The Jolly and Castellanos families / Jon Show photo
Dec. 8. By Jon Show. The newest retail shop in Cornelius owes its launch to a shared love of travel by a mother-daughter team seeking a new adventure.
The Outpost is the evolution of an outdoorsy clothing brand created five years ago by Cornelius resident Amy Jolly and her teenage daughter, Aubrey, a senior at Hough High School.
Amy came up with the idea for the store shortly after her mother passed away last fall. During her childhood, the family visited nearly every corner of the country during their summer travels.
“We’d fly into an airport and grab a rental car and just drive,” she said. “We’d just show up places and my dad didn’t really have itineraries. I’m spontaneous, but I also learned a little. I like a little bit of a plan.”
Her plan these days includes a partnership to meld her modern day general store and a popular coffee haven under one roof to help bring people together.
General store
The Outpost retail gift shop occupies one half of an open-concept space in Shops on the Green, on Torrence Chapel Road next door to Ferrucci’s Old Tyme Italian Market. The other half of the 3,000-square-foot building is shared by Caffeto Specialty Coffee, a high-quality, homegrown Colombian coffee shop run by sisters Valentina and Maria Castellanos.
The renovated décor reflects the outdoor and eco-friendly nature of the two businesses. Instagram-worthy wall art incorporates decorative moss, and a large postal stamp mural adorns one wall. Community tables, cozy seating areas and a kids’ play area invites customers of all ages to sit, chat and relax, with a DJ providing entertainment.
The retail mix at The Outpost reflects the Jolly family’s adventurous spirit. At its heart, the store is a gift shop featuring items from mom-and-pop shops, including books, candles, games, stickers, jewelry and more.
But scattered on the shelves are items that reflect the true essence of its owners – T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and other items – many designed by Amy and Aubrey – that are branded with slogans such as Lakeside Adventure Club, Leave Me at the Lake and, of course, The Outpost.
Farm-to-table coffee
Caffeto offers a literal farm-to-table coffee experience for its customers. The Castellanos family owns a coffee farm in Colombia, where they roast and ship beans north every two weeks to ensure a high-quality product.
The expansive drink menu features lattes and other familiar coffee drinks, as well as Colombian-inspired concoctions, ceremonial-grade matcha and a dessert-style latte named after the sisters’ grandmother, Pily.
Caffeto also offers bakery items like pastries and banana bread, and a few specialties from home, including pandebono bread, arepas and a cheesy bread snack called dedo de queso.
This is Caffeto’s second venture. The sisters also operate a coffee truck in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood. They jumped at the chance for a brick-and-mortar location when Amy reached out seeking a coffee partner to share in her new venture.
“What brought us together was a sense of community,” Valentina said. “We know our customers and we build connections. We wanted to join with Amy and help bring that sense of community here to Lake Norman.”
Photos by Jason Benavides
Thanks for the new store. Do you have many sugar free flavorings for the coffee? As a diabetic, gotta watch out, and I’m not a fan of french vanilla
Posted by Bucky Dornster | December 8, 2025, 9:08 am