MEET OUR FOUNDERS
Ali & Heather
In 2016, our entire family made the move from Illinois to Georgia—leaving behind everything familiar and learning what it meant to put down new roots in an unfamiliar place.
We’re Heather and Ali, a mother-daughter duo who never really planned on owning a coffee shop—let alone five of them.
Heather is a wife of 33 years and mom of six—four biological daughters and two sons adopted from Ethiopia—and spent most of her life as a stay-at-home mom. Ali is a wife of 10 years, mom of three girls—two biological and one adopted—and a NICU nurse. Today, we both live with our families on a shared family farmstead, where slow, intentional living and staying close as a family are a big part of the life we’ve built together.
Rooted may have started with just the two of us, but it didn’t stay that way for long. Over the years, it has become a true family business, with the people closest to us stepping in, growing alongside us, and helping shape Rooted into what it is today. In so many ways, the things we value most at home—family, connection, hospitality, and a slower, more intentional way of life—have found their way into the heart of Rooted, too.
When we opened Rooted, we had no experience owning a business and no formal education in business or marketing. What we did have was a whole lot of drive, a vision we believed in, and a deep love for people and community.
After moving to Georgia, we found ourselves longing for the relationships and sense of belonging we had left behind in Illinois. So many of those relationships had been built around the tables of locally owned coffee shops—the kind of places where you could settle in, stay awhile, and eventually become a familiar face.
We wanted to create that here. And so, what began as a passion project became Rooted.
That season of uprooting and rebuilding became the inspiration behind both our name and our mission. Rooted Coffeehouse was created to be a place where people can put down roots—a place that feels comfortable, welcoming, and a little bit like home. A place that leaves you better than it found you.
Our hope has always been simple: that the people who walk through our doors feel seen, valued, and connected. We want our coffeehouses to be a place to gather, linger, build relationships, and enjoy really good food and drinks along the way. What began as our own search for community has grown into something far bigger than we could have imagined.
So, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6–7