Over the years, we’ve been asked countless times how the café came to be. The truth is, there was never a grand master plan. What began as a small espresso setup inside our Savannah shop slowly evolved into something much larger — a gathering place, a garden, a daily ritual, and a community we never could have fully anticipated. Below, founders Erika Snayd and Joel Snayd reflect on the unexpected story behind Asher + Rye Café in their own words.
When we first took over the building that would eventually become Asher + Rye Café, we weren’t setting out to become café owners.
At the time, we were designers. Retailers. People deeply immersed in interiors, objects, furniture, textiles, and the feeling of home. The café component came with the building itself. If we wanted the entire space, the coffee portion came too.
So we thought: Okay. Maybe we’ll have a small espresso setup.
That was the plan.
A tiny machine. A simple offering. More of an extension of hospitality than a full-fledged Savannah coffee shop. We even borrowed our early setup from Origin Coffee Bar, who we also source beans from.
Asher + Rye Cafe 2023
We laugh about it now because, slowly, the café began telling us what it wanted to become.
At first, it was just coffee. Then we upgraded the machine. Then there were more people lingering. More regulars. More conversations. Staff members who believed in the vision before we fully did ourselves. We remember saying early on, “It doesn’t need to become a real coffee shop.”
And the response was essentially: No, actually, it should.
The truth is, we were learning in real time.
There’s a lot of pressure today for founders and business owners to appear polished, strategic, and completely certain from the very beginning. But that wasn’t our experience. We were naïve in many ways. We made mistakes. We learned as we went. And honestly, we think there’s value in being honest about that.
Some of the most meaningful things in life evolve while you’re already inside of them.
The café certainly did.
What surprised us most wasn’t the coffee itself. It was the community that formed around it.
In the beginning, the café felt like an extension of our home. We wanted people to feel the way guests do when they walk through your front door and you immediately ask, “Can we make you a drink?” It was never meant to feel transactional. It was about welcoming people in.
Then, slowly, something shifted.
Asher + Rye Cafe Entrance 2025
People began bringing their friends. Their children. Their parents. Their team at work. Someone would stop by for a quick espresso and end up staying for two hours in the garden. Strangers started recognizing one another. Conversations overlapped between tables. Morning routines formed around the space.
One of our favorite memories happened on an ordinary morning. Erika was sitting in the courtyard waiting for a friend, watching people interact around her. Everyone seemed calm. Happy. Comfortable. A friend looked around and said, “This place is amazing.” Then one of our team members walked outside and said almost the exact same thing moments later.
Founders Erika Snayd and Joel Snayd
It was coming from every direction.
And suddenly there was this realization: This didn’t exist before.
That feeling still stays with us.
Over time, the garden became just as important as the café itself.
What started with a few plants slowly evolved into something lush, layered, and deeply alive. Joel became fascinated by gardening in a way he never had space for before. One plant became five. Five became twenty. Suddenly the garden felt like an lush retreat tucked into the middle of Savannah.
Now we pull over on the side of the road to look at plants. We think about shade patterns and pollinators and hummingbirds. Some plants attract bees. Some create cooling canopy. Some simply make people pause for a second longer than they intended to.
The garden taught us patience.
Asher + Rye Cafe Garden 2026
Living things require tending. You nurture them little by little. One step at a time. Brick by brick. Plant by plant. And in many ways, the café grew exactly the same way.
Not overnight.
Not from a perfect business plan.
But slowly, organically, with care and consistency.
Looking back now, we realize the café became something far bigger than coffee. It became a place where people gather after walks through the neighborhood. A meeting point for friends. A quiet corner to work. A weekend ritual. A garden people return to again and again because of the way it makes them feel.
And maybe that’s the thing we’re most grateful for.
What began as a small espresso machine inside a design shop eventually grew into a community we never could have fully planned for. One conversation, one regular, and one plant at a time.
