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The Well trades cozy charm for bland beige
“They gentrified The Well!” Lipscomb senior Diane Brown threw her hands in the air. “There’s no character.” The Well Coffeehouse off of Granny White Pike has recently fallen victim to the boring beige trend. What used to be a cozy, warm coffee shop full of wood-paneled walls and colored photographs showing people around the world that The Well has helped is no more. Now, the walls are blank and boring. The seats are stark, plain wood and the counter has been painted a bright blue. Perhaps saddest, though, is the large wooden map decorated with orange pins and small photos, showing every location where The Well has dug a well…
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Rob Touchstone: brewing faith, business, and purpose
When you sit across from Rob Touchstone, you quickly realize that coffee is just the medium. The real story is about connection, purpose and faith lived out loud. From roots in youth ministry to the founding of The Well Coffeehouse, Touchstone’s journey epitomizes how business and mission can meld seamlessly when love and intention are in the driver’s seat. A graduate of Lipscomb University in the late 1990s, Rob Touchstone majored in Bible and Youth Ministry, a natural fit for someone drawn to serving others. He began his career as a youth minister in Alabama before moving to Tennessee, where experiences within the church became both inspiring and challenging. While…
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From coffee to classroom: Lipscomb’s College of Business transforms entrepreneurship
At Lipscomb University, The Well Coffeehouse does more than just serve coffee to its community. Founded by the current Director of the Center for Vocational Discovery, Rob Touchstone, it exemplifies how business ventures can extend their impact from local communities to a worldwide mission, and has inspired an innovative academic program for Lipscomb students. Since founding The Well in 2012, Touchstone has opened six locations across Nashville. The location, across from Lipscomb’s intramural field, has become a place where students, faculty and community members meet for coffee, work, and occasionally listen to live music. After its establishment, Touchstone wanted The Well’s profits to transition entirely to helping impoverished places around…
