Former Aviatori Coffeehouse sold to new owners

Aviatori Coffeehouse has been closed since April, but the property changed hands as of today, and the new owners have big plans.

Juliana Turchetti opened the aviation-themed coffee shop at 311 E. Logan Ave. in 2022 and ran the business while also continuing to work as a pilot. But when she accepted new employment based on the west coast, she said it made it too complicated to operate the business in Springfield, and the property was listed for sale.

Turchetti, 45, was killed July 10 while fighting a fire in Montana. Now, one of the friends she made during her time in Springfield plans to carry on her coffee legacy.

Dalton Ingram, a co-owner of Springfield Carriage Co., said he valued his friendship with Turchetti.

“I met her right as she opened the coffee shop. She was a bright soul – very easy to talk to,” Ingram said. He said she shared “a lot of pointers on coffee” and taught him her roasting process.

Ingram partnered with his friend and investor Justin Agee to purchase the former Aviatori Coffeehouse and roasting equipment.

"I'm going to Havana to pick up the bean roasters, and we're going to create a roastery upstairs (at Springfield Carriage Co.) in the back room; it's always been unused space," said Ingram. "Her family in Brazil has even invited me to come there at some point to see where the beans are grown."

Ingram said he plans to continue to rent parking spaces to state workers and hopes to fence in the lot to make it more secure, but hasn't made a final decision about what to do with the building.

"For now, we're just going to get the building cleaned up and get the missing windows put back in, then reevaluate in the spring," he said. "We've talked about turning it into a really unique Airbnb, but there is also talk of potentially reopening as a coffee shop, and we would name it Juliana's, in honor of her."

In the meantime, fans of Aviatori's coffee won't have to wait long.

"As of Monday, we should be serving Juliana's espressos at Springfield Carriage Co.," said Ingram. "Our immediate plans are to incorporate all of her coffee into Carriage Co., and we've hired a barista to help us do that."

Ingram said that in the near future, Springfield Carriage Co. will adjust its hours of operations to open at 7 a.m. instead of 10 a.m., and he also plans to offer curbside service so that customers can simply pull up front to get their coffee to go.