The Nest by Birdie & Co. takes flight in Greenville

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

November 17, 2025

GREENVILLE – A warm cup of coffee, a fresh-baked pastry and a place to linger – Owners  Austin and Alyssa Durham said The Nest by Birdie & Co. aims to offer just that.

The coffeepreneurs said the Greenville coffee shop and bakery opened in mid-October, offering locals a neighborhood destination for cinnamon rolls, sandwiches, soups and, of course, expertly brewed coffee.

The Durhams said for them, The Nest is the latest step in a journey that began with their “little birdie” dream on a mobile trailer and has now landed in a full-fledged community gathering spot.

The Next chapter for Birdie & Co.

Austin said The Nest marks the latest chapter in the couple’s series of entrepreneurial ventures under the Birdie & Co. banner.

The couple said they have been serving coffee and homemade baked goods from their mobile trailer, Little Birdies Treats & Coffee – affectionately known as “Birdie” – since 2022, making stops at farmers’ markets, corporate sites and local events.

The Durhams said they are also behind The Coop, a shared commercial kitchen in Appleton that not only supports their trailer operations but also gives other culinary entrepreneurs a place to bake, cook and prepare food.
Each of those ventures, Austin said, has built a loyal fan base and a foundation for an even bigger untaking: The Nest.

With the launch of The Nest by Birdie & Co., the Durhams said they saw an opportunity to bring more cohesion to their ventures, adding “by Birdie & Co.” to each of their offerings.

Though the new trailer’s name hasn’t been updated yet, Austin said a rebranding is coming to further strengthen the connection between their businesses under the parent company.

“Our vision is to be Birdie & Co., and each of the pieces of the puzzle is something by Birdie & Co.,” Durham said.

Answering the call for a storefront

After cultivating a steady following through events and farmers’ markets, the Durhams said it was that loyal customer base that prompted them to consider establishing a permanent home for their offerings.

“We repeatedly were asked by customers when we were going to open our own shop, particularly in Greenville,” Austin said.

By parking Little Birdies Treats & Coffee at a local business, Austin said they were able to test the waters and measure the community’s appetite for a permanent cafe.

“People in the area wanted coffee that wasn’t only available from a gas station,” he said.

Moving into a brick-and-mortar location, Austin said, meant weighing the investment of time, money and resources, as well as the need for a larger staff.

“We’d both been in management, and didn’t necessarily want to do that again, but at the same time, we knew there was a need for a [coffee shop] in the area,” he said. “Every event we went to, people asked us, ‘Where is your home base? Your stuff is really good.’”

Finding a place to nest

As they began their search, the couple said they knew their next venture wouldn’t take them back to downtown Appleton, home of The Coop, and instead focused on Greenville.

Though some commercial lots were available, the Durhams weren’t interested in building from scratch, and suitable downtown properties were scarce.

Then, Austin said, everything seemed to fall into place.

After buying a new truck to pull the coffee trailer, he said they learned a space for The Nest had unexpectedly opened up.

“We wanted a place that would allow for customers to get in and out easily on Hwy 15 or 76, a stand-alone parking lot, a drive-thru and enough space for people to sit down and talk or hang out,” he said. “This offered it all.”

The couple said they also wanted a location with enough room for a kids’ area, two bathrooms and a bright, plant-filled space. 

After spotting a paper note on the former Subway’s door that the space was available, Austin said he contacted the owners right away, even before an official “for lease” sign was posted.

“I knew demand for the location would be through the roof, because Greenville wants something like this, so I was proactive about getting a foot in the door,” he said.

However, just when it seemed everything was falling into place, Austin said an unexpected setback threatened to derail their new venture.

At the end of August, Austin said he was driving the new truck and trailer when he was involved in a serious accident that totaled the truck, significantly damaged Birdie and put an immediate halt to the couple’s livelihood, with neither the truck nor the trailer available for use.

Austin said the accident could have derailed their dream – but they refused to let it.

Instead, the Durhams said they turned their attention to renovating the 2,500-square-foot space that would eventually become The Nest.

Alyssa said they were candid about the setback on social media.

“[We] shared the real behind-the-scenes of building a coffee shop, renovating our space, rebuilding after loss and all the ups and downs of small business ownership,” she said.

Building the nest experience

The couple said their vision was to create a destination that offered quality coffee and baked goods with a primary focus on providing excellent customer service.

“What I have learned is that the most important thing in a restaurant or any other service-based location is how you make the customer feel,” Austin said. “We need the right people because [customers] remember the conversations with the barista/cashier or the person who checks on them at the table. And those types of things don’t happen at very many establishments anymore.”

Second to service, Austin said, is the quality of food and drinks and delivering them consistently.

At The Nest, he said, that’s done for breakfast from 6-10:30 a.m. and for lunch from 10:30 a.m. to close (1 or 3 p.m., depending on the day). 

“We’re definitely known for our lattes, and not just traditional ones, but the fun flavors we come up with,” he said. “That’s a carryover from the fun offerings made in the trailer.”

For example, Austin said the first iteration menu included a Sweater Weather Latte featuring maple, cardamom and cinnamon flavors, introducing a number of customers to cardamom in the process.

Another popular choice, he said, is the Cinnamon Roll Latte that features cream cheese cold foam on top of it.

“We’re slowly putting in some of these fun lattes, not to mention other items people appreciate outside of coffee: caramel apple lemonade, Lotus plant-based energy drinks, chai, matcha, tea and more,” he said. “We have a special menu for non-coffee drinkers as well.”

The baked goods that built a following

Though their inventive latte lineup draws in coffee lovers, Alyssa said the baked goods have their own fans – with the top seller being the cinnamon rolls made from her grandma’s recipe.

“We make 100-plus every day and have sold out every day except two,” Austin said. “There are pictures of Alyssa baking with her mom and grandma at a church event, so it’s a generational thing.”

Other breakfast items – including breakfast burritos, Austin said – trail just behind cinnamon rolls in popularity, with breakfast sales reigning supreme.

He said demand is growing for The Nest’s healthier lunch options, with favorites including the turkey cheddar panini, gourmet grilled cheese, gluten-free hummus wrap, chicken Caesar salad wrap and a selection of homemade soups.

The goal with all The Nest’s offerings, the Durhams said, is to use as many local and seasonal ingredients as possible, while also featuring products from other small culinary businesses – both to strengthen their menu and give those brands greater exposure.

Austin said examples include soups from Sabee Culinary Services, cheesecake from Candi’s Cheesecake Creations, coffee roasted by New Morning Coffee Roasters and meat from The Meat Block.

“It’s a great way to cross-promote items and businesses they may never have heard of before,” he said.

Austin said the plan is to slowly rotate offerings to keep things fresh, while retaining favorites.

“We’ll add one and subtract one,” he said.

Earlier this month, Austin said they added the Cinnamon Roll Latte and a Brown Butter Pecan Latte to the coffee menu; simultaneously, two lowest-selling lattes fell off.

And for those who loved the “funky and varied” latte offerings that Birdie was known for, hang tight – Austin said they’re on their way.

“Our goal is to get more fancy and complicated as our staff gets more comfortable,” he said.

Serving more than coffee

The Durhams said they’re happy with the space they’ve created in Greenville – a place where people can gather, unwind or work in an inviting atmosphere that isn’t a bar.

“It’s a place for people to be able to connect with each other,” Austin said. “I’ve seen people do job interviews, sign contracts, bump into someone they haven’t seen in a while and sit and chat for hours. Ultimately, it’s about serving great quality coffee and food but also to offer a community connection that’s been lacking.”

Austin said the space draws a variety of people – stay-at-home parents with their kids, business professionals holding meetings, retirees and more.

In a recent social media video, the Durhams said The Nest by Birdie & Co. has never been “just” about baked goods and coffee.

“[Our business] was born out of a passion for creating, for sharing and for making others happy,” Alyssa said. “And that passion is what keeps us going day after day.”

For more on The Nest by Birdie & Co. – located at N1723 Hyacinth Lane in Greenville – head to its parent company’s page on Facebook.