About

It all started when…

The official opening day was a bright, beautiful day on October 26th 2015 in the heart of ATL with only championships on our mind. Not pennant races or individual awards, but as a team set for perennial greatness.

We started as the vision of local coffee vet Dale Donchey’s dream to be touches of baseball (which he loves almost as much as coffee) and a never-ending pursuit of quality which he believes can only be achieved through the practice of the “old fashion, pain in the ass way”. And yes, we will always stand by “Coffee so good, we drink it ourselves” as long as Dale is breathing.

But where did Spiller Park, the name, come from? Well. R.J. Spiller took over Ponce de Leon Field, where the Atlanta Crackers played, in 1923 when a fire out of nowhere took the local pastime. Spiller replaced the rubble that was left with the most state-of-the-art stadium in the country and at every turn supported the city he loved for more than 40 years. That man is our name's sake and if you ever have a question about it just ask ol’ Dale. The goals of Spiller Park were set clear then and stand true now: be passionate for community, stand up for what’s right, put a winning product in front of people, and provide service; always service to be proud of.

It wasn’t too long before we became known as the “Spiller Park Hooligans.” a nickname picked up from the fans who came out to watch us play during practice in the lead up to the 2015 season at Ponce City Market. Our practices at Ponce City Market were what we call “pop-up” shops. We popped up right in Ponce City Market, before construction was even finished!

A true “rags to riches” story! Being the rag tag group of baristas we are, we took a shine to it really quick. The fans saw something during that pre-season and we strive to do right by our fans every day since. Working hard, playing hard and doing good is the Hoolie way through and through.

No, Dale didn’t do it alone. Along with Dale in this venture for coffee shop greatness was the award-winning chef Hugh Acheson of T.V., cookbook and restaurateur fame. He’s the only southern Canadian on the books and has been awarded some of the highest honors in both places. He started the toast program we continue to dominate today as one of the best “close to burnt” pieces of bread with stuff on it in this fine city of ours.

At the close of the 2019 season, Dale and Hugh parted ways. This was no brawl mind you, but an amicable departure, just what you’d expect from 2 of the best veteran coffee and food slingers in the biz. If anyone tells you otherwise, you just tell ‘em to pay ol’ Dale a visit. His door is open all day and night if he needs to set the record straight.

The fields were frosted over the first morning of the 2020 season, Coach Dale cradled a cup of Spiller Park’s finest, the aroma

rose to his nose and he could hear the buzz of the crowds that awaited the Hooligans. New beginnings were here, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t excited to play ball the same as he ever did, with grit in his teeth and his eyes on the pennant.