This year’s winner for Best Barista, Cody Cox, has been in the coffee business for what will be 16 years in May.
The Holmes County native received a bachelor’s degree in English from 
Mississippi College in 2001. His first barista job was at Gravity Coffee shop in Clinton during his college days. He began working at Cups Espresso Cafe in 2009 and became the general manager in 2011.
“I’ve always loved the atmosphere of coffee shops, not to mention I’m a coffee fanatic,” he says. Ever since he started working in the industry, coffee became more than just a drink for him.
“I think it’s very typical that a English major ended majoring in the coffee business,” Cox jokes.
In October 2018, he stepped down as the GM to open his own bakery and coffee shop, Urban Foxes. He and his wife, Molly West, plan to open the business in Belhaven some time this year.
“I love the creativity and connectivity that coffee allows,” he says.
For more information, find Urban Foxes on Instagram. —Armani T. Fryer
WINNER: Best Barista
Address: Cups, 2757 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS 39216
Phone number: 601-362-7422