Flatlands Coffee recently celebrated its one-year anniversary and has entered its second year of business with a larger staff, regular clientele and more sales.

“Heading into our second year here we’re doing things that we weren’t doing in the first year, like catering…business is continually growing every day,” Zach Mickens, a barista, said.

Ben Vollmar opened the coffee shop on Halloween of 2015.

The shop celebrated its anniversary with online promotions, gift card giveaways and dollar-off drinks. Coffee-cupping, also known as coffee-tasting, was also introduced.

“Each person got a flight of four different coffees…(we were) trying to teach people how to taste coffees and know their personal preference and what separates a good scoring coffee from a bad scoring coffee,” Vollmar said.

Coffee-cupping is now expected to occur about once a month with increasing frequency if it becomes popular.

After he opened the store, he ran it solo for a month before hiring his first employee.

The staff at Flatlands attributes the shop’s success to the unique customer experience.

“You’re coming here more for an experience that anything else,” Mickens said.

Part of that experience is the quality of customer service the baristas are held to.

“We do focus on the experience, we want to have a conversation with you, we want to find out what you like, we want to give you what you like, maybe help you try something new,” barista Laura Skebba said.

The atmosphere features simplistic decorations and a minimalist approach conducive to both a social and working environment. Vollmar’s wife is an interior designer, and designed the shop herself.

“The goal is to stand out in Bowling Green because our product is so different, we want to communicate that in the atmosphere,” Vollmar said. “A lot of Bowling Green, we feel like, kind of specializes in the eclectic look…so the opposite approach would be the minimalistic approach.”

With the minimalistic ambiance, the shop gives most of its focus to its product.

“I like the vibe…it’s a clean look, I like the clean lines,” Staten Middleton, a customer of six months, said.

Middleton and his co-worker, Jasmine Gramling, come to Flatlands two to three times per week, often stopping on their way to work. Middleton knew about the shop from driving by during its construction.

“I like that their drinks in general are flavorful without needing lots of sugar,” Gramling said.

That flavor can be attributed to the scientific approach the baristas use.

“The quality of the coffee, we have a scientific approach to the way we brew coffee. We put thought into everything from the coffee beans to the water that we use,” Skebba said. “When you order your coffee, it’s still beans.”

Skebba recently graduated from the University with a degree in chemistry. The scientific approach used at Flatlands instantly intrigued her as a customer and even more as an employee.

“This is a science experiment, this is awesome,” she said.

Gramling’s father, James Felan, experienced his first taste of Flatlands’ coffee on Saturday.

“(They have) excellent black coffee, it was very good,” Felan said. He also mentioned the friendly staff.

With a smaller but established coffee menu, changes to the menu are now focusing on food. In response to customer demand, Flatlands began serving sandwiches on Monday.

“Rather than have a giant menu where some things are just okay or mediocre, we just want every item to be one hundred percent solid,” Vollmar said.

The shop sees many returning costumers, but new customers, particularly townspeople, are more often visiting the shop as its reputation spreads.

“Maybe word of mouth finally caught up to them,” Mickens said.

Students are the shop’s primary customers, and its original target customers. These include both undergraduate and graduate students. Some professors frequent the shop, too.

“We love working with students,” Mickens said. “We’ve got plenty here for students, gratuitous amounts of caffeine, constructive work space, plugs (and) Wi-Fi for free.”

Flatlands uses coffee beans from all over the country, this week the beans are coming from Durham, NC, next week they’ll come from Virginia.

“Coffee is this really big, unique experience and our customers kind of get to come along,” Mickens said.

As Flatlands’ reputation builds, it is making strides to engage in the local community. It now serves weekly catering orders, and, a few weeks ago, there was a pop-up boutique in the back of the store for a few local artists.

Since last November, the staff at Flatlands has grown from only Vollmar to five additional baristas. With over 50 applicants to choose from when he hires, Vollmar can be particular when hiring.

“I’m looking for people that actually care about what we do,” Vollmar said. “I’m looking for a positive attitude, an eagerness to learn and, specifically, a passion for coffee.”

Vollmar didn’t start his business to directly compete with or hurt any small businesses, but to offer a different coffee experience.

“We have a hundred pizza places in town, and they’re all successful, and no one blinks an eye about you getting pizza at all them,” Vollmar said. “The same should go with coffee.”