Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
It would be an understatement to say Marlinton resident Kai Murphy is a coffee lover. He has developed quite the palate for the beverage – from three months of age to now, at the age of 20.
Murphy has such a taste for coffee that he has plans to start his own business, Butters Coffee, with a coffee cart and truck to travel and share his unique coffee around the state.
Starting a business takes money and with that in mind, Murphy applied and was selected to compete in Entrepreneur of Impact, sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine. The winner of the competition will receive $25,000 for their business and have a two-page spread feature in the magazine.
It may seem like there are plenty of options for coffee out there, but Murphy has a special ingredient that will change the way people look at coffee.
“I’m flavoring with butter because I believe butter is better,” he said. “It’s changing the way people drink coffee.”
Murphy makes his own butter and uses coffee beans roasted by Mountain Table in Renick, to create his flavorful butter coffee.
He plans to not only have his own cart and truck to sell his coffee from, he is also selling his homemade butter to other coffee shops, so they too can sell butter coffee.
“I’m not messing with the competition; I want to increase the economy in West Virginia by also streamlining other small businesses,” he said.
Murphy was inspired by his dad, Adam, who always dreamed of having his own coffee shop. Instead of opening a storefront where customers would be required to come to him, Murphy decided he wanted to have a mobile shop where he could reach all parts of West Virginia with his butter coffee.
With Entrepreneur of Impact, the public decides who wins. The competition is set up so each business owner has a website where the public can vote for their favorite business. The businesses are divided into groups and narrowed down each week by public vote.
Murphy is currently ranked fifth in his group. The Top 10 will be open between April 9-16, then the Top 5 vote will be open between April 16-23.
The Group finals will be April 23 to April 30, with one winner from each group being selected by the public.
The winners will move on to quarterfinals, semifinals and finally the finals which will be May 22 to May 28. Public voting will determine the winner from those who made it through all the levels.
The grand prize winner will be announced in June.
Murphy said that if he wins, the funds will go toward the equipment, cart and truck he needs to take his coffee on the road.
To vote for Murphy, visit https://entrepreneurofimpact.org/2026/kai-murphy
The site will ask you to log in to your Facebook account to cast your vote. This is to ensure that each individual only votes once.
You must have a Facebook account to vote.
