Corporate Info

Cups History

Owners Janice and Dennis Cameron were inspired to open Cups in order to combine their passions for coffee, art, music, and community into a small business. The idea emerged from their experiences traveling around the country. Janice, a professional artist, enjoyed exploring the art districts of new cities with her husband.

“In looking for the art districts, you would always find independent coffeehouses. And that’s what appealed to us: the individuality of a coffeehouse, and the personalities that ran them,” says Janice.

When Dennis, an electrical engineer, was offered a position in Jackson, the Chicago natives moved to Mississippi with their three children, Jeff, Debra, and Jennifer.

Around that time, a coffeehouse in Jackson’s artistic Fondren neighborhood came up for sale, and Janice and Dennis decided that it was a perfect place to locate the business they had envisioned. They bought the coffeehouse, rebranded it as “Cups, an espresso café” and introduced the table and chairs logo that they still use today. Cups Fondren opened under the Camerons’ management on July 31st, 1993, their grandson Zachary’s first birthday.

“Our hope was to provide a safe and creative environment for young people to work and grow, and to continue our pursuit of a great cup of coffee,” says Janice. “We wanted to become part of the community and establish a connection through giving.” Giving back to the community is important to Cups.

Cups Locations

Although the Camerons didn’t anticipate expanding beyond the Fondren location, they received many requests to do so. They opened their location on Capitol Street in the Regions Building in 1996 and eventually decided to help entrepreneurs open franchise locations as well.

“We found that there was a desire for that kind of coffee environment here in Jackson and decided it was a win-win for both us and the community,” says Janice. “It provided jobs and growth in our company.”

In 1997, four years after they opened Cups Fondren, the Camerons started a coffee roastery, the first one in Mississippi.

“To be in control of the quality of our coffee, we decided to roast it ourselves,” says Janice. Barista Shawn Rogers moved up to coffee roaster, and Cups began selling coffee by the pound.

There are currently 12 Cups locations, from the Jackson Metro area to Magee.