Brewing community: Jim Davis is bringing people together over his passion for coffee

Jim and Dixie Davis at their Maryville home, where they roast coffee beans as part of their entrepreneurial venture, Third Flame Coffee. (Photo by Davin Davis)

Jim Davis '98, '00, tells a story about his love for coffee beginning as a high school student in King City, Missouri. His wife and high school sweetheart, Dixie, called him an old soul because he was a young person drinking straight black coffee.

"Coffee was something that was always an interest of mine," Jim said. "I probably started drinking coffee too young. In high school, I had a friend, and we would go get a cup of coffee, and we really enjoyed drinking the coffee together."

But in 2010, coinciding with the adoption of their daughter in Ethiopia, Jim experienced coffee in a different way than he ever had before. When the Davises participated in an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, Jim was struck by the care taken in roasting, grinding and brewing coffee beans - and, most of all, the ritual of bringing people together to laugh and share stories.

"The thing I noticed about that ceremony that I don't think I'll ever forget is it really was about community," Jim said. "It was really about just stopping and taking time to enjoy something."

Jim, who has held the roles of chief financial officer and executive vice president at Nodaway Valley Bank in Maryville since 2000, felt such a strong sense of community and connection that it inspired him to work toward creating similar spaces within his own community. He invested in equipment and began experimenting with roasting coffee beans at his Maryville home.

Now, he has nurtured that vision into Third Flame Coffee, an entrepreneurial venture using beans harvested from small farms throughout the world and imported from places like Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, Indonesia and, of course, Ethiopia.

Jim's passion for brewing also has grown into a fruitful collaboration with entrepreneurs Kent and Stephanie Campbell Yount, who opened Haven Coffee and Goods, a coffee shop and boutique in downtown Maryville, last fall. While the Younts own and operate the business, Jim is the roaster and sole supplier of its coffee beans.

"We want to see the community have a spot that's like that coffee ceremony," Jim said. "Coffee should be shared in a way that you're sitting down and not thinking about all the struggles of life for a few minutes. You can enjoy each other and laugh or encourage each other or share hard things. But coffee's usually right there in the center of that."
All generations of people comprising the Northwest community have quickly adopted Haven as a go-to spot for everything from study sessions to meetups with friends or coworkers.

"The connection between Kent and Stephanie and Dixie and I is very much a common denominator in creating a space that is intended for this community to stop and to enjoy each other," Jim said. "I couldn't begin to tell you how pleased I am with being able to walk in there and see people from all different walks of life.'"

Jim takes pride in guaranteeing that consumers will consistently enjoy his brand of coffee and is equally passionate about contributing to the community ideals that shape Northwest and Maryville.

After completing his bachelor's degree in public accounting at Northwest, he stayed to earn a Master of Business Administration - through the mentorship of former business faculty Ed and Sharon Browning - and launched his career with Nodaway Valley Bank.

"I care deeply about Northwest," he said. "I showed up out there in '94, fell in love with the community and fell in love with Northwest. Dixie came and joined me a couple years later. We were high school sweethearts, and so when we came here, it's like, 'You know what? This would be a great place to raise our kids.'"

The Davises have remained connected to Northwest as campus ministers and through their involvement with Friends of International Students, an organization that matches individuals and families to offer support to international students attending Northwest. Additionally, Jim joined the Northwest Foundation Board of Directors in 2024.

To learn more about Third Flame Coffee, visit www.thirdflamecoffee.com.

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