Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Unhold and Melissa Nagode.
Stacy and Melissa, please share your story with us.
We live in a small rural town called Wyoming, IL. Over the years, our population has declined, the town lost businesses, and our downtown started looking like a ghost town. Being small town girls, who had moved away, and then found their way back home raising their families, we wanted to start a spark in our community. We have a passion for our small but very large-hearted community and wanted to see it back alive. We put our heart and soul into One Eleven Coffee. We wanted it to standout from the highway and give it a big city feel. The movement started and soon our community saw what we had done, and started sprucing up the downtown. New paint was added to run down buildings and soon buildings were being sold and new businesses came in.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, our road was not smoothly paved, we had more of a country path, gravel roads which gave way to a lot of bumps and even potholes! With three women, born in three different decades that are pretty head strong get together, they can conquer the world, with many arguments along the way. We plugged along trying to set emotions to the side, and trying to make sure we allowed ourselves family time. Did I mention Melissa is a mother of three girls, at the time we started, were in daycare and kindergarten and Stacy had two boys in second grade and sixth grade. Balancing work, extracurricular activities for kids, husbands, and our own social lives is not an easy thing to do. That is where I think women do not get enough credit, we wear so many hats, we try not to complain, just add it to our checklists and do it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into One Eleven Coffee story. Tell us more about the business.
One Eleven Coffee specializes in coffee, we use a couple different roaster. 30/30 Coffee from Peoria, IL is our espresso roaster and loose tea provider, and Fresh Grounds Coffee in Geneva, IL is our roaster for all things coffee here. We have a killer menu that features paninis, salads, and daily fresh soups. Our baked goods and homemade pies bring them in from all around. We have a bicycle theme for our decor, as we have a trail that goes through our town here called the Rock Island Trail. If it’s a nice day, you will be sure to see many bikes parked outside. We host special events like our Oktoberfest, wine pairings and tastings, as well as local acoustic talents.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
We enjoy frequenting other small town shops, bakeries, and cafes to see how they are running, and talking with other small business owners to gain wisdom in this very hard market. Small business owners have such a wealth of ideas and are most likely eager to share these ideas with others.
Contact Info:
- Address: 111 N 7th St
Wyoming, IL 61491 - Website: oneelevencoffee.com
- Phone: (309) 606 – 9004
- Email: oneelevencoffee@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/OneElevenCoffee
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