Opening soon · South Knoxville
Our Story
A queer-owned coffee shop built by and for South Knoxville.
Meet the founders
Who We Are
Stone’s Throw is owned and operated by Casey and Zoey Stone — a queer married couple who believe South Knoxville deserves a coffee shop that actually belongs to the community.
Casey Stone (they/them)
Co-owner & founder
If Casey looks vaguely familiar, it’s probably because you’ve spent the last eleven years in the same spaces they have — catching drag king Danny Valentino on stage, crossing paths at a downtown restaurant or coffee shop, or maybe spotting them in a local stage production or true crime episode filmed right here in Knoxville.
Through their years managing a coffee shop, Casey learned every layer of what makes a place actually work: maintenance realities, supply ordering, the precision a great drink requires, the creativity the craft allows, and what people are genuinely looking for in a menu. They’ve never met a stranger, and the warmth they bring into a room isn’t something you can manufacture.
Casey’s other interests include making art from ethically sourced animal bones, philosophy, musicals, a 16-year-old soul-cat (plus six other pets), day trips, and brunch.
Zoey Stone (she/her)
Co-owner & founder
Zoey was born and raised in Tennessee, took a detour through Illinois and Florida, and migrated back home to Knoxville in 2022. She spent most of her twenties as a massage therapist running a private practice in every state she lived in — the kind of work that teaches you quickly how to read a room and take care of the people in it.
When she was ready for something new, she found herself behind the desk at a couple of companies and moved up in rank wherever she landed. That instinct for leadership and entrepreneurship is exactly what she’s pouring into Stone’s Throw.
Right now Zoey is prioritizing the good stuff: running with her dogs, home-making with her family (spouse, kid, and multiple animals), and tending what she will only describe as a positively magical garden. Her interests include Buddhist teachings, plants, roller derby, and hiking in toe shoes — a cult she will absolutely try to recruit you into.
What we are
A coffee shop, an arts space, a gathering place
Stone’s Throw Coffee is queer-owned and LGBTQIA2S+ affirming — and it’s built for South Knoxville neighbors. We believe a neighborhood coffee shop should feel like it belongs to the neighborhood: welcoming by design, sober-friendly by default, and full of the kind of local creative energy that makes a place worth living near.
We’re looking for the right South Knoxville home: a place that can hold queer joy, community, art, grief, laughter, and belonging while giving Stone’s Throw room to become something distinctly its own.
The coffee is handcrafted and priced for neighbors, not tourists. The walls rotate local art. The calendar makes room for drag shows, open mics, author readings, acoustic music, and community nights. And the vibe — warm, inclusive, plant-filled, deeply Appalachian — is the one we always wanted to walk into.
What we’re building
The Vision
We believe coffee shops can be more than a place to buy caffeine. They can be where people read, sing, grieve, laugh, make art, and find each other. Here’s the plan, plainly:
Great coffee at neighborhood prices
Handcrafted drinks made carefully, from sourced beans you can trace. See the full menu.
See the menuLocal art on the walls
Rotating exhibitions, local maker goods, author readings, and acoustic music on the calendar.
Art & AuthorsSober-friendly events by design
Events where nobody needs a drink in hand to belong. Queer-affirming space, full stop.
See eventsA room that's easy to be in
For an hour of work, a first date, a hard day, or just coffee and quiet. Come as you are.
Location detailsBe part of something brewing.
Stone’s Throw is community-funded and opening soon. Support the GoFundMe or follow us for the opening announcement.