Dragon’s Forge Cafe | Studio 2073
CULINARY ARTS, INDEPENDENT BUSINESS
Dragon’s Forge Cafe opened in 2021 but started as a concept a few years earlier. Owners Bruce and Jennie Caudle started their long journey by starting as traveling artists selling at conventions across the nation, before settling at Lowe Mill with a storefront in 2019. Both Caudle’s have ample experience in kitchens, and 14 years of coffee experience between the two of them. It was a shared dream and vision to open a coffee shop one day. During the 2020 pandemic, an opportunity arose for them to make that dream a reality.
A fantasy theme was a no-brainer, both owners love all things fantasy, and it was a unique concept they hadn’t seen used in the restaurant scene. They wanted a unique escape from the everyday hum and drum.
Unique Recipes
Jennie Caudle is the illustrator of the pair and designed different dragons that represent each drink in the cafe. There are plans to produce an array of whimsical merchandise based on these dragons to further the story and brand.
We are a fully immersive fantasy-themed cafe. We create unique flavored lattes and unique food based on Jennies family's recipes, which are inspired by southern and Czech cuisine.
Bookbinding, Printmaking
Sonja is a true Renaissance woman, interested and experienced in many medias, her bread and butter is custom book binding and repair, you will also see in the studio a series of paintings on the exploration of the natural world, combining painting with letterpress printed text. A graduate of the University of Louisville (1991), Minot State University (2005) and the Alabama MFA Book Arts (2012). She is the recipient of the 2012 Raymond S. McLean Book Award. Her artist books can be viewed in special collections libraries including the Smithsonian’s American History Museum, Duke and Vanderbilt Universities and other private collections. She has taught workshops in Anchorage, AK, Asheville, NC, Washington DC and Huntsville, AL Her career also includes teaching in public school art programs, and the University of Alabama. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama Huntsville where she teaches 2-D design and drawing.