Canary Yellow Is the Product of a Couple’s Colorful Dream
Canary Yellow
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Canary Yellow 〰️
Jordan Giovannucci and Christopher Russell knew it would take an all-in effort to chase their dream. For starters, it took selling nearly everything - their house, and one of their cars being the most noteworthy assets of which they parted ways. However, throughout the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship, the couple have found that all they need to build this business, is simply each other.
The first of their family to move from their hometown in Ohio, Jordan and Christopher began to call Wilmington home in 2018. Their journey started with owning, managing, and designing Airbnb properties, in tandem with their full time jobs.
The front garden area of the shop.
They saw what they admit was “a surprising amount of success”, even being featured on Airbnb’s top 30 under 30 list of hosts. Five years later, the couple pulled the trigger and decided to go all in on Canary Yellow.
“It just kind of snowballed. We just continued to ride the wave, it worked the way it was supposed to, to get us here. ”
The gift shop area of Canary Yellow.
Leveraging Jordan’s background in design, Pantone colors would act as the inspiration for the names and flavors of the signature drinks they would come to offer within the coffee shop portion of the business.
The name would also be inspired by the initial paint swatch selected for the house. However, after over four gallons of yellow paint was applied to the front porch, the couple wasn’t thrilled with the look, and opted to go with pink instead. The original swatch still holds the namesake - hence, “Canary Yellow”.
“We’ve always looked to stay at the places that are super quirky and interesting, and that was what drove the inspiration behind this place. ”
Like every entrepreneur, there’s always a level of uncertainty when it comes to opening a small business. But the couple’s decision to work together centered around the ability to pour 100% of themselves into a project spent with one another.
“If I am going to be giving my all to something I’d rather do it with someone I truly care about, love, and want to work with on the daily.”
May 24th, 2025 marked the grand opening for the caffeinated side of the Canary Yellow business. The one-of-a-kind “nook” coffee shop was born with the hope of covering bills in the early days of renovations to the inn, which was yet to open. They describe the coffee counter as “Harry Potter style”, tucked beneath the winding pink stairwell in the foyer of the historic home.
Jordan wasn’t a lifelong coffee fanatic or a daily coffee drinker, but in recent years she viewed it as a special treat to accompany adventures while traveling - describing it as her equivalent of “a slice of cake”.
After getting a small espresso machine in 2024, Jordan taught herself everything she could, and eventually worked her way up to true coffee aficionado status.
Over 13,000 customers later, Canary Yellow’s Coffee Shop has become more that “just a small side business” - it has become a destination in Wilmington for locals and visitors alike.
“We assumed it would be something small to serve the local neighborhood, the firehouse next door, etc. just to help pay bills in the meantime. It really took off quicker than we expected.”
A few major milestones stand out so far in the first year of business. Seeing a Canary Yellow t-shirt in the wild for the first time was a surreal moment for the pair. Unexpected lines out the door that seemed to appear out of nowhere on more than one occasion, led to a realization that maybe the concept of the shop was beginning to catch fire.
The pinnacle moment occurred outside of the Port City, in Raleigh - when Jordan and Christopher were at another coffee shop while visiting friends. The barista noticed Jordan’s Canary Yellow sweatshirt and excitedly asked, “Have you ever been to Canary Yellow before?” of which Jordan and Christopher chuckled and said “Oh yeah we’re the owners!”
After getting an enthusiastic, rave review from the barista, the couple recalls the disbelief they felt the entire two hour drive home.
Along with the excitement of popularity, came the challenges of keeping up with demand. Reworking the flow of the space, acquiring a new refrigerator, hiring more people, and purchasing an additional ice maker, were necessary to keep up with traffic. “All good problems,” the pair chuckle.
In an interesting twist, one of the most difficult moments of their first year in business would also be flipped into a positive for their customers. During one of the busier weekends, the gift shop (located in the adjacent room to the coffee counter) was unfortunately robbed, and quite a few items were stolen during business hours.
“It was a heartbreaking moment. We were very new and still figuring things out, and to have that happen was surprising and a bummer.”
Canary Yellow gets their coffee from Partner Coffee Roasters.
Not wanting to put the thieves on blast but still wanting to address the event publicly, Canary Yellow ran a “buy one get one free” special on their pastries in the following days.
“We wanted our customers to get in on the thrill of stealing something, while also thanking those that do the right thing when they come in our shop,” says Jordan.
The special would gain traction, with Canary Yellow’s post announcing the promotion getting nearly 2,000 likes on Instagram, in an outpouring of support within the Wilmington community.
The pink facade of Canary Yellow.
In 2026, the couple is excited for the initial concept of Canary Yellow to finally come to fruition. Three colorful rooms at the inn will be ready for their first guests sometime later this year.
While the coffee has been a resounding success, the couple look forward to expanding the experience of the overall space with its full offerings.
Be sure to stay up to date with all of Canary Yellow’s updates and promotions by following them on Instagram, and their website!