Triangle town will soon get its first locally owned coffee shop. Here’s when
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Unhinged Coffee Co. will open a permanent Knightdale shop in early April.
- Unhinged is moving into the former Rewind Retrobar, seating around 70–80 people.
- Shop host community events focused on mental health and wellness.
In a matter of months, a Triangle town will have its first locally owned, brick-and-mortar coffee shop.
To owners Jonny Mocha and Cody Vaughn, Unhinged Coffee & Co. isn’t just about bringing Knightdale a new spot to gather and hang out. The coffee shop also has a mission to raise awareness of mental health and wellness.
Vaughn spent two decades in the corporate world but wanted to do something that allowed him to work with people. Mocha, who works in marketing, thought Vaughn was mostly kidding, and created an Unhinged Coffee Co. logo as a joke, he told The News & Observer.
But Vaughn loved it. He quit his job and started working to make Unhinged come alive.
In mid-May, Unhinged brought its coffee cart to a pop-up at a Knightdale farmers market. It has been less than a year since that debut, and soon, Unhinged will launch in a permanent space in the town, offering residents a new place to spend time right in their community.
“There are plenty of evenings where we look at each other and go, ‘OK, what should we go do?’ And the options were drinking, eating or shopping,” Mocha said. “And there wasn’t really a community space or a place where you could go sit comfortably like this around friends and talk and just get work done, or socialize, or just feel like you’re in a living room without being stuck in your house and feel like you’re part of a community.”
Knightdale gets new locally owned coffee shop
But the brand’s new home may be familiar to fans. Unhinged is moving into the former Rewind Retrobar at 319 N. First Ave., where Unhinged held pop-ups, including “Find Your Therapist,” a speed dating-style event where visitors could spend a few minutes meeting with multiple mental health clinicians.
“The goal is really to give people in our community an opportunity to step into caring for their mental health, because there’s a lot of stigma and fear and hesitation when it comes to that,” Vaughn said.
Unhinged has already made an impact in the community. Mocha has crocheted many baby blankets for families who visited Unhinged during its Rewind pop-up. Vaughn has seen people enter as strangers and, after spending a couple of hours together, leave as friends.
“You’ll know it’s working when Cody is behind taking orders with someone’s random baby in his hands,” Mocha said.
With business partners and Knightdale residents Chris and Alyssa Craighead, Mocha and Vaughn are giving the First Avenue space an updated look, including lighter paint and murals on the walls.
“We wanted to make sure that it felt alive and felt bright and happy,” Mocha said.
The permanent shop, expected to open its doors in early April before celebrating a grand opening in early May, will be a community space with comfortable chairs, a sectional, communal tables and bar stools seating around 70-80 people. Unhinged also hopes to have patio seating in the future.
Unhinged Coffee & Co. menu
Coffee drinks such as lattes, drip coffee and cold brew will be served all day, and wine, beer, THC drinks and caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee will be served in the evenings.
For food, Unhinged will serve baked goods and a small menu of warm dishes throughout the day.
Unhinged partners with The Muse Coffee Co. in Garner to offer its signature roast for espresso drinks, and beans for drip coffee and cold brew are roasted by The Left Hook Coffee in Raleigh. Unhinged makes all flavored syrups, whether its vanilla or a seasonal offering, in house.
With a permanent home, including an outdoor alley space, Unhinged can host many events — perhaps yoga and Pilates, book signings, slam poetry, open mics, “crochet and complains” and night markets, inviting food trucks and local artisans.
“If you think about OK, what on First Ave. is uniquely authentic to the history of Knightdale, this building is one of those,” Mocha said. “And so we feel very privileged to get to be a part of that, so that as Knightdale continues to grow, we get to truly be that community space right there in the center of it all for the town.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 11:41 AM.
