It all started with a cup of coffee. One night after a concert in La Crosse, where they were living at the time, Rich and Barb Bottorff decided to stop by a coffee shop. To their surprise, the place was packed. “I looked at Barb and I said, ‘You know what? This is a good business to be in,’” Rich explained. When the former Bank Haus building in Rich’s hometown of Wykoff came up for sale, he and Barb decided to buy it and open it back up as a coffee shop similar to what they saw in La Crosse. Barb had recently been laid off from her job as a medical transcriptionist due to downsizing and was happy for a change in career. “So now I make coffee,” she laughed.
The Wykoff Coffee Company officially opened on July 3rd, 2019. The Bottorffs didn’t have to do a lot of renovations before opening other than to update the kitchen area to bring it up to code and change the ceiling. The main floor has tables where customers can sit while they enjoy their coffee and baked goods and at some point, Rich and Barb would like to finish renovating the basement area to use for seating and special events as well.
While the coffee shop is Barb’s full-time job now, Rich still works in Rochester as a road supervisor for a bus company. The hours he works there still allow him to help Barb at the coffee shop in the mornings. He is especially interested in Wykoff history, and it shows in the memorabilia and pictures displayed throughout the shop. After purchasing the building, he spent time researching its background. “Rich really dug into the history and found out more about it,” Barb said. The brick building was constructed as a bank in 1894, but just one year later, it nearly burned down when a fire destroyed all of the other buildings on that street. Burn marks can still be seen where a cut-out in the wall panel displays the interior brick wall of the coffee shop. Another cut-out on a different wall shows marred brick from when robbers blew up the bank safe in 1924. The bank survived the robbery and continued to operate until the stock market crash of 1929 finally forced it to close. Interestingly enough, it was reopened as a tavern in 1932 during Prohibition. Rich has a picture of several customers sitting at the counter of the tavern at that time, one of whom was a law enforcement officer. The tavern later converted to a cafe which closed in the 1970s. Rich grew up across the street from the cafe and can remember visiting it as a child. He and Barb now live in the building next door to his childhood home which makes the commute to work at the coffee shop pretty easy.
Since opening, the Wykoff Coffee Company has attracted a number of “regulars” who make it a point to frequently stop in for a cup of coffee. Customers come from all over the Fillmore County area including Fountain, Preston, Chatfield, etc. People commuting to Rochester will often order coffee over the phone and then stop by on their way to work to pick it up. “We stay pretty busy!” Barb commented.
In addition to the coffee, which was selected specifically for the Wykoff Coffee Company by coffee connoisseur Rich, Barb serves pie, baked goods, and homemade fudge. Each day, she features a different flavored coffee and type of pie and also has a fudge flavor of the month. Coffee beans can be purchased whole or ground along with a variety of giftable products, which include new and antique items that change on a seasonal basis.
Barb hosts a number of events and clubs at the Wykoff Coffee Company such as the 500 Club on Sundays, a crochet club on Wednesdays, class reunions, Bible studies, etc. She is also in the process of planning monthly events with Mary Sackett, owner of Margaret’s Tea Room.
The Wykoff Coffee Company is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. You can contact them at (507) 352-3000.
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