Alexandra Kay is not only a singer-songwriter, but she’s also a business owner. In 2025, Kay opened The Coffee Girl, a coffee shop in her hometown of Waterloo, Illinois. Kay named it The Coffee Girl because of the unconventional way her career began.
“It’s just a nod to back in 2020, when I got on TikTok,” Kay reveals on The Ty Bentli Show. “And I was the girl in her yellow kitchen, making coffee and singing country songs. It went super, super viral, and here I am, 9 million followers later, and I literally wouldn’t have any of it without being The Coffee Girl. And so, I wanted my first business to be in my hometown, so that when it gets to be a huge, hopefully franchise, that it will continuously bring money back into my town.”
Kay enjoys having The Coffee Girl, with her own curated menu. But she is also grateful that she gets to make it a family affair.
“Actually, the coolest thing about it is, I got to retire my dad from a job he’s been in for basically my whole life,” Kay reveals. “He’s now the GM of my shop.”
Kay loves having her dad be part of The Coffee Girl, even if it does come with its own unique set of challenges.
“I will tell you, it was really awkward in the beginning,” Kay concedes. “The first time I had to push back on something, because my whole life, my dad is the one tell me no. I don’t tell my dad no. And so, he would definitely push my buttons. He’s be like, ‘Baby, sweetie.’ And I’d be like, ‘No, Dad. I told you three times, you’re not getting one over on me. We’re not spending this money on this.’
“It was definitely a different dynamic,” she adds. “But my dad is one of the smartest and best businessmen I’ve ever known. And so, who better to be by my side.”
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Alexandra Kay Has a Top 40 single With ‘Straight For The Heart’
Kay currently has a Top 40 single with “Straight For The Heart.” The song, written by Jimmy Robbins, Karley Scott Collins, and Sasha Sloan, is one of only two that Kay did not write for her sophomore Second Wind album. Still, as soon as Kay heard it, she knew it was the perfect addition to Second Wind.
“’Straight for the Heart’ is kind of like me. Don’t let me down easy,” Kay explains to Countrytown. “I’ve been through enough, and it’s definitely something I have felt. If you listen to my debut album called All I’ve Ever Known, I went through a divorce three years ago… I knew it was all falling apart. And the way I connected with it was just, don’t hurt me anymore, just to keep me hanging on. It’s just going to hurt us both even more, so just rip the bandaid off, so to speak.”
Kay has plenty of concert dates on the calendar. She is also already working on her third studio album.
Photo Credit: Facebook / Alexandra Kay