In 1998, the Hamanns, originally from the Cincinatti area, purchased a property in the Cliffview area of Red River Gorge as a way to get their kids out of the city and into the woods.
After building their cabin, they put it in a rental program as a way to help pay the mortage when they weren’t using it. When that rental company folded, they were stuck. They couldn’t afford to keep cabin without renting it out. Nancy Hamann decided to set up their own website to try to rent it out. When other cabin owners found themselves in the same position, they contacted her to see if she could list their cabins. With this, a new business was born – Scenic Cabin Rentals.
Running the business out of their Cincinnati home for 10 years, in 2010, when their kids graduated high school, the “empty nesters” decided to move to their favorite place – the Gorge.
After leasing a building for a few years, in 2014, the Daniel Boone Trading post – a staple in Slade, Kentucky, a town in the heart of the Gorge – came up for sale. With a loan from MACED, they purchased the building, remodeling it to include a coffee shop. They decided to name it the Daniel Boone Coffee Shop to honor the history of the post.
With Nancy running Scenic Cabin Rentals, as well as Black Bear Lodge Motel, her daughter, Michelle, oversees the shop with the help of a shop manager, Timberley Robertson. Besides quality espresso, coffee and other drinks, they offer breakfast, lunch, including paninis and other sandwiches, as well as homemade baked goods and all natural fruit smoothies. They source fair trade, organic and regionally roasted beans from Deeper Roots Coffee roaster in Cincinnati, Rocco’s Coffee Roastery in Winchester, and the Kentucky Mountain Coffee Company in Paintsville.
With Slade being in a remote area, they offer a variety of camping supplies and groceries for visitors and campers. Specifically catering to the tourism market, they carry grade A restaurant quality steaks, burgers, bacon, deli items, and more. In 2018, when Powell County voted to allow alcohol sales, they began offering mixed drinks and a small liquor and beer section, adding to their long list of options.
A believer in supporting local crafters, they carry souvenir type items for visitors — from jewelry to knives. They also support the community in other ways, like donating to the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition and to various Powell County functions.
In recent years, tourism in the Gorge has increased tenfold. In 2019, the shop began to do very well. Many other local shops and restaurants, including the famous Miguel’s Pizza, also felt these effects, with many even staying open during the winter season. With this, their expectations for 2020 were high.
However, with the spread of COVID-19, their business had to close its doors to the public. Though they tried to offer cubside service for a few weeks, when the trails and campgrounds in the area closed to visitors in an effort to protect the small community from an outbreak, they had to close completely. In late March 2020, they added gift cards as a way for you to support their coffee shop from afar. Please consider purchasing a gift card for your future trip to this beautiful area.
MACED is proud to have supported the Hamanns with affordable financing for them to achieve their vision for their businesses.
