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Reflections Coffee Shoppe has officially been a staple of downtown Selma for one full year.

The renowned coffee shop has been visited and patronized by many locally and around the world, according to the map on the wall of the popular coffee spot owned by Jacqueline T. Smith.

On the shop’s special day, which was Tuesday, March 25, Smith was full of gratitude and had high emotions of “gratefulness” toward the celebratory occasion that consisted of coffee on the house from 8 to 9 a.m. and coffee bingo that offered free prizes to those in attendance from 9 to 10 a.m.

There was also a special meal in honor of the grand day, which was a chicken spaghetti lunch that was served for only a short period of time during the day and during the evening. There was also a “Happy Hour on the Patio” event that consisted of cocktails, mocktails including the chance for the public to receive beer beverages for only $2.

“It is such an emotional day for me,” Smith said. “First of all, it has been a very blessed day to officially make this milestone. It was a big leap of faith to even consider opening a second location.”

At first, Smith was unsure of how things were going to turn out having two coffee shops in Selma, but said she took on the challenge of observing trends, following trends and doing research to identify her target market.

“It was really tough for me, but God just kept opening doors and showing me that this was OK. So, March 25, 2024, we swung the doors open to a crowd of people similar to what we’ve seen today, and through this process I’ve learned so much. You would think being open 13 years on Broad Street, what else could I encounter? But this coffee location downtown near the Edmund Pettus Bridge is altogether different.”

The differences within the Reflections Coffee Shoppe lie within the menu and the clientele, according to Smith, and she said between her original coffee shop on Broad Street and this second location, it is sometimes looked upon as two different entities.

“So, I’ve just had to take this year and learn this coffee shop,” Smith said. “It’s like I’ve been learning all over again, but it’s been a good learn. We’ve had some ups and we’ve had some downs, and naturally, the downs always make you question yourself. And then, it’s like the Good Lord just sends the ups, and he will send people to kind of lift me up and motivate me and make me know that it’s all good, but it’s going to never be every day good. So, it’s just life. But, to answer the question, it’s been a great year. It’s been a lot of hard work for me, mentally and physically. But, I’m kind of feeling like I’m figuring it out and I’m enjoying it.”

Smith said she truly loves what she does and sometimes asks herself, “How can I love so much work?” But her answer lies in the love of meeting people and serving people.

“And the smiles that we put on these tourists’ face are unbelievable. So, I know God has me here for a reason and he just keeps giving me the strength. People are like, you are 67 years old, how do you this and what vitamins you take? And I’m like, I’m just being myself.”

Smith said the day of her shop’s anniversary was an overall blessed day and sometimes she said she would have to pinch herself twice to make sure that this moment of her owning two successful coffee shop businesses is really real.

“It’s real,” Smith said.

The first contributing factor Smith said that allowed her business to reach the celebratory milestone of one year was understanding which hours the shop needed to open and close.

It was a “perfect fix,” according to Smith that involved the hours of the shop going back to 8 a.m. to reach the early morning coffee crowd.

The next contributing factor she said that brought success to her business was knowing the importance of the two o’clock hour, which is now a time geared to get the late lunchers and late tourists that come in the coffee shop as well.

“Now, we have live entertainment hosted on Friday nights,” Smith said. “Where I want to do karaoke and some spoken word and just give people a space to be themselves.”

So far, Smith said she has received nothing but good feedback since adding new activities to the shop and said things like that make a big difference in her shop’s outcome.

“I just want to say thank you,” Smith said. “Thank you to my hometown community, because without you, there would be no Reflections and Thank you to Selma, Alabama and countless people coming here. Tourists come and tourists go, but I have to count on my local community to support me always. So, when tourist season is low and nonexistent for about four to five months out of the year. That’s when I really have to rely on my local people, and they have showed up when word kind of got out that business is real slow around Reflections and people just start coming. They will come and say to me that we want this place in Selma. So we’re going to support you and so as long as this community supports me, I pledge my loyalty to support Selma anyway I can. From the nonprofits that we give to, to the school systems that we partner with and including all the groups is a result of people supporting me and me pouring back out into my community. So, it’s a full circle, you bring in and I give out.”

Four pillars that the Reflections Coffee Shoppe stands upon stems from community, giving a great quality product to great customer service including having the backbone of a strong team, according to Smith.

“I have a very strong team that is able to take my vision and follow my lead,” Smith said. “They have bought it into a lot of times. Sometimes, entrepreneurs struggle with buy-in from their staff, but I can truly say that this group I have, has truly followed my vision and supported me.”

Since reaching the milestone of one year with her latest business Reflections, Smith said is expecting many more years to come and plans to expand her coffee shop business to other neighboring cities down the line.