For Kimberly Porter, a cup of coffee has always meant more than just caffeine. It symbolizes the sound of family gathering around a kitchen table and the feeling that anyone who walks through the door belongs there. That warm atmosphere is what she aims to recreate in Gainesville with Audrey’s Coffee, a new family-run coffee truck named after her late mother.
“Everybody was just comfortable around her — you just knew you were welcome. Everybody got along. We all had so much fun. It was just a big, happy family,” Porter said. “Those moments of grabbing a cup of coffee, sitting around the table, it’s a cup of comfort.”
Porter grew up just outside Chicago and visited Gainesville with her husband about 25 years ago when he was attending the University of Florida. Around that time, one of his professors introduced him to the process of roasting coffee beans at home.
“One of his teachers told him about roasting coffee beans. He doesn’t drink coffee, but he loved doing it,” she said. “He went out and got the roaster — he was like, ‘try those, try that,’ and it was a lot of fun for us, trying all the varieties of beans.”
Experimenting with beans from different regions around the world became a family hobby and quietly laid the foundation for Audrey’s Coffee.
The other part of the business comes from the next generation. Porter’s daughter-in-law, Alyssa, also became a coffee enthusiast. After the family helped her buy an espresso machine, she started experimenting with syrups and flavors and has spent the past year and a half working at a local coffee shop. Her creative drink ideas now influence Audrey’s menu.
While the coffee side developed naturally, the name was never in doubt. Porter knew she wanted to name the business Audrey’s Coffee after her mother. Customers may never have met Audrey in person, but they’ll feel her presence in the atmosphere Porter aims to create.
“We knew we had to name it Audrey’s because my mom was an amazing, solid woman,” she said. “Family was always first for her. Everybody was welcome at our house, everyone knew it and felt it so much.”
Those memories shape everything about the truck’s purpose. Porter doesn’t just want to serve drinks, she wants Audrey’s Coffee to feel like an extension of her mother’s living room. The goal is for both regulars and first-time customers to feel recognized, welcomed, and given a moment to slow down before rushing back to work or running errands.
But turning that dream into a successful business took time. Porter was a busy mother and wife who supported her husband’s career and raised a family for years. Porter said she often kept her own ideas “on the back burner.”
Last year, she decided that waiting for the perfect moment might mean it would never happen.
She worked through permits and inspections with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Food Safety, completed the required training and faced delays that stretched the process well beyond her initial plan.
Despite all the setbacks, the truck is up and running, and the family is gradually establishing a routine. During the week, Audrey’s Coffee often parks at business parks around Gainesville. On other days, the truck shows up at community events, markets and gathering spots, building a following one small group at a time. The conversations at the window are just as meaningful as the shots pulled from the espresso machine.
“We love our customers and enjoy attracting new ones wherever we go. Meeting people, hearing their stories, that's my favorite part,” Porter said. “We’ve definitely enjoyed taking those small steps forward. It’s been great and has been really well-received.”
Customers often share their dreams and side projects — including one visitor who discussed plans to turn farm-grown ingredients into skin care products. Moments like that make the long, frustrating startup phase worthwhile.
The emotional payoff has been the biggest takeaway from this process. Watching people gather around the truck, chat, laugh, and enjoy their drinks reminds Porter of the energy in her mother’s house.
“It just truly brought so much joy to our hearts,” she said upon finally opening the business. “We are more than excited to keep growing. I feel so blessed.”
For Porter, the goal is clear: to transform a family’s long-standing love for coffee — and a mother’s legacy of warmth — into something Gainesville residents can taste and feel. Every time a cup is handed over, Audrey’s presence acts as a small way of welcoming customers into the family.