Many Ashland locals know Downtown Perk as one of Ashland’s many coffee shops, but do they know the purpose behind Perk?  

When the doors opened over 15 years ago, it was a way for Lisa Lee to give back to the Ashland Community.  

“What inspired our mission has always been from our original owner, Lisa Lee . It’s always been to be a community, a main hub for downtown Ashland and the surrounding area. To build a community and have a good place where you would have, you know, baby showers, birthday parties and family and friends come,” said current employee Lexi Felicano.  

Once the new owners, Saun and Carly Little, took over, employees noticed a growing pattern. People would bring their own coffee mugs for the baristas to fill but kept forgetting them in the cafe.  

“Years ago, people used to bring in their own mugs, and they would leave them here. Sometimes they would trade them out. Anyway, when we switched to using our own latte mugs and stuff like that, we thought ‘why not do a little mug tree?’” Feliciano said.  

Inspired by a free library, the mug tree is something that anyone can partake in. The rules are simple. All one must do is bring in a mug and put it on the tree in replacement of the one they take.  

“I think it’s a creative way to kind of build a community, you know? Everyone obviously has different personalities, but a lot of the employees that work here will bring in their mugs and put them up,” said Feliciano. 

 “And then they’ll find out like they have a connection with another customer or something. Like we have a girl here who’s a cat mom. She loves cats, so she brought in a few of her extra cat mugs. Then one of our customers went crazy for them. So, they kind of formed a new connection.” 

For those interested in taking part in the mug tree, Downtown Perk is open Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and they are closed on Sundays.