thefreshpresspr

Monitoring Period:  October 15th, 2026 – October 29, 2026

Agency: The Fresh Press PR (Gigi Fowler, Joey Olek, Izzy Henick, Jordan Pierce)

Local News:

Dayton Days Autumn Celebration Draws an estimated 22,000 Visitors Despite Rain

• The annual Dayton Days Autumn Celebration attracted approximately 22,000 visitors despite the rainy weather.
• Around 250 vendors participated in this, they sold handmade crafts, food, artwork, and other products.
• A lot of these vendors had reported that they had some strong sales and positive interactions with each customer they faced.
• This connects to Drifters Cafe because the event highlights how community gatherings can encourage people to shop locally as well as supporting a small business.

• Downtown Harrisonburg hosted its 15th annual Skeleton Festival on October 24th.
• There were activities such as, trick-or-treating, costume contests, live entertainment, and games.
• Local downtown businesses were encouraged to participate in this festival.
• This connects to Drifters Cafe because the community events such as this one that brings people downtown creates many opportunities for cafes to engage with customers and participate in local celebrations.

Social Media Monitoring:

Coffee Trail

• The harrisonburg coffee trail was highlighted in a post on Harrisonburg’s Instagram.
• This is an example of how local tourism organizations can help independent cafes reach new costumers
• Drifters could share coffee trail content to encourage visitors to stop by

@broadporchcoffee

A creator, @zoereesee, posted a TikTok about getting matcha at Broad Porch Coffee, with JMU and college-life hashtags. Another creator, @tryingspotsaroundyou, posted about the cafe as a cute coffee shop near JMU. Why it matters: Student-created content can introduce a cafe to other students and influence where they go for coffee.

Industry News:

• Yemeni-style coffee shops are growing with 6 major chains, meaning it has expanded by 50% in 2025 to reach 136 locations
• These cafes attract customers with unique drinks, such as spiced coffee, adeni tea, traditional pastries, and a social atmosphere focused on spending time with others
• This trends shows how Drifters could offer more distinctive drinks and seasonal flavors because it could help the stop stand out and attract customers it wouldn’t usually get

Cafés surge as consumers trade down: Hospitality trends H1 2026

• Findings show that restaurants are the only major food and beverage that have been on an upward trend, sales at coffee shops have increased by 5% in the past 6 months because consumer have started to become mores selective about where they spend
• We see this by how Grind, Starbucks, Blank street, and many other coffee shops have been outperforming the market, despite starbucks being on the list, this article emphasizes that more established brands have actually seen more decline and competition in the food market continues to increase.
• This is especially important for Drifters and many other small businesses because it shows the huge amount of opportunity for them right now, especially if they are offering affordable drinks, convenient service, and a welcoming atmosphere

Advisory comments:

Drifters Cafe should take advantage of local events, community interest, and tourism to attract new customers. With festivals pulling people downtown, an event day special or drink could catch visitors’ eyes and give them a reason to stop by. Drifters could also participate online by sharing Coffee Trial content and with permission, could repost customers’ photos and videos. Students’ posts about Broad Porch shows how an everyday coffee run could possibly start a business for someone else. Encouraging customers to tag Drifters and share their favorite drinks and orders could possibly create that same attention. The plan here is to make the curiosity that brings new customers into a connection that keeps them coming back.