"Exit 8 is a really good location, and it's underserved when it comes to coffee." Ken Poindexter, owner and roaster of Mugsy's Coffee Company, said that to WhatNow Nashville in July while explaining why his business would add a third Clarksville café at Rossview Plaza.
That one sentence explains most of this fall's openings around Clarksville. The newest coffee counters and lunch stops aren't new brands. They're names many people here already know, opening another storefront closer to the customers who used to drive to their first one. In the last few months that has happened at Exit 1, on Trenton Road, and at Exit 8. If you live on one of those sides of town, the list of places you'd drive across town for just got shorter.
Here's where each business started and where it opened.
- Khairos Coffee Co. started at 329 Warfield Blvd. and added 3862 Trenton Road near Exit 1.
- JP's Hot Chicken started on Fort Campbell Boulevard in Oak Grove, Kentucky, and added 2670 Trenton Road.
- New York Butcher Shoppe started on Madison Street in Sango and plans a second store at 2670 Trenton Road.
- Mugsy's Coffee Company has shops at 3291B Fort Campbell Blvd. and 620 Dunlop Lane, and its third is at 1243 Rossview Plaza off Exit 8.
- Chillville Bakery & Boba started at farmers markets in Spring Hill and Franklin and opened its first shop at 1243 Rossview Plaza.
Exit 1 got its coffee shop first
Khairos Coffee Co. opened at 3862 Trenton Road on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, after a soft opening that Saturday, Aug. 15, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Trenton Road shop opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. With that schedule it fits a morning commute and a midday meeting, though not an evening hangout.
The original Khairos is still at 329 Warfield Blvd. Owners Hung and Aeilene Phan told Clarksville Online that the new "Exit 1 crew is ready to welcome you with the exact same warmth, kindness, and energy you've always loved from our team." The same report says people who came to the soft opening went on social media to say how glad they were to have a Khairos in their own neighborhood.
Khairos is known for more than drinks, and that's why this location matters. The company runs community nights, local music, featured vendors, local artisan partnerships, and small business incubator programs. Those things used to happen only on Warfield. Now the Exit 1 area has a shop that can host them too.
2670 Trenton Road is becoming a two-stop errand
A few miles down Trenton Road, the shopping center at 2670 Trenton Road shows the pattern twice.
JP's Hot Chicken came first, crossing the state line from its original spot on Fort Campbell Boulevard in Oak Grove. ClarksvilleNow covered it on Oct. 4. Om Patel, who runs the Trenton Road operation, told the outlet, "Seeing the amount of growth Clarksville has experienced in that timeframe, we knew we had to expand into Clarksville. That's definitely been the goal." The menu centers on a signature chicken sandwich, with catfish and other options. The "big combo" upgrade adds two sides, two dipping sauces, and a drink.
The second business in that center hasn't opened yet. New York Butcher Shoppe, which opened on Madison Street in the Sango area more than a year ago, announced a second store at 2670 Trenton Road, across from Jenkins & Wynne. Owner Taylor Rather told ClarksvilleNow why he chose that spot: "We've had so many customers from that side of town that have expressed their want for us over there. This is our way trying to be closer to them."
Rather and his business partner Joni Haston haven't set a firm timeline. Rather's rough estimate is that the Trenton Road shop could open by March 2027. Plans include a soda fountain with craft sodas and an outdoor seating area. Rather has also said the long-term goal is three Clarksville locations. The draw is certified Angus beef, premium grocery items, prepared meals, and nightly dinners.
If the timeline holds, one parking lot on Trenton Road will cover both a hot chicken lunch and a weeknight steak by next spring. Neither was in that center at the start of this year.
Exit 8's New Plaza
At Exit 8, the same thing is happening in a building that was still going up this summer. In July, ClarksvilleNow photographed 1243 Rossview Plaza under construction. Three businesses already had their names posted: a coffee shop, a restaurant, and a bakery.
Mugsy's Coffee Company is the veteran-owned roaster Ken Poindexter and his wife Tina bought in 2008. The Rossview café is its third Clarksville shop, after Fort Campbell Boulevard and Dunlop Lane. Poindexter told WhatNow he expected an August opening if construction stayed on schedule. Visit Clarksville now lists Mugsy's Coffee Company–Rossview at 1243 Rossview Rd., Suite 100. That listing doesn't give hours, so check with Mugsy's before you plan a morning around it.
Poindexter was careful about growth. "This would be our third store, so we don't want to saturate or overpopulate Clarksville," he told WhatNow. Asked about a fourth, he said, "Possibly. But it has to be another good location like Exit 8."
Chillville Bakery & Boba is the plaza tenant ClarksvilleNow confirmed open on Oct. 11. It's the one business here without an earlier Clarksville storefront, but it follows the same logic. Founders Teja Kakarla, Harika Nandigam, and Naga Lakshmi first sold at farmers markets in Spring Hill and Franklin. When they picked a spot for a brick-and-mortar shop, they chose this plaza. "We love Clarksville, and it's growing so fast, we said let's bring something to this community," Kakarla told the outlet.
Chillville is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the phone number is 931-677-2664. Because it stays open late, it's the plaza's evening stop. Here's what the owners named as their favorites:
- Classic chocolate chip, walnut, and Nutella lava burst cookies, which Lakshmi picked
- Pistachio cookie, which Kakarla picked, plus donuts that joined the menu the week of the report
- Blue pea butterfly boba, which Nandigam picked, and brown sugar boba, which she said customers rave about
- Cane sugar in the boba by default, with agave maple syrup as an option
Lakshmi said the shop is "focusing on no preservatives, no stabilizers," and that the cookies keep about seven days in an airtight container. That's handy if you're buying a box for the week.
Ireh K Food is the third name on the July signage. It was planned beside Mugsy's and is set to serve banchan, the side dishes that are central to a Korean meal, with catering expected too. No opening date has been announced, so watch that corner of the plaza.
Sango's Tuesday market, while the butcher counter stays put
New York Butcher Shoppe's Trenton Road move shouldn't worry anyone in Sango. The Madison Street store stays open, and Haston told ClarksvilleNow, "Sango has been amazing." Sango also has a new seasonal market this fall.
According to ClarksvilleNow, the Good Ground Harvest Market runs every Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Bible Baptist Church, 3102 Prospect Circle. The season started Sept. 22 and runs through Nov. 24. Starting the week of Thursday, Oct. 22, five Tuesdays are left: Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 10, 17, and 24. A 4 p.m. start lines up with the drive home from work.
How a Clarksville week maps out now
Put together, these openings change the trips around town more than any single one does. Here's one way to use them, from north to east:
- Weekday mornings near Exit 1: Khairos on Trenton Road from 6 a.m., without driving down to Warfield.
- Lunch on Trenton Road: JP's Hot Chicken at 2670 Trenton Road. Next spring, that same center is expected to add New York Butcher Shoppe for dinner.
- Tuesday after work in Sango: Good Ground Harvest Market on Prospect Circle until 7 p.m., through Nov. 24.
- Evenings at Exit 8: Chillville at Rossview Plaza until 9 p.m., with Mugsy's next door for coffee once its hours are posted.
Every business on that list chose its new address because its owners said customers there wanted them closer. The question for each one now is whether the second location keeps the feel of the first.
If you're watching these corridors fill in because you're thinking about which side of Clarksville fits your routine, I'm glad to talk it through with you. I can point out where the new stops are and how a typical day would look from each exit. When you're ready, schedule a consultation with Whitley Battles Smith.
