Thursday, April 25, 2019
Milton Courier A3
Food
pantry
receives
$2,500
County farmer
Bonnie Martin, directed
$2,500 to the Milton
Food Pantry through
America’s Farmers Grow
Communities, sponsored
by the Bayer Fund. As
part of their mission the
organization will use the
funds to continue their
efforts distributing food
for those in need.
Celebrating its 10th year,
America’s Farmers Grow
Communities partners
with farmers to support
nonprofit organizations
strengthening rural
communities. The
program offers farmers
the chance to direct a
$2,500 donation to a
nonprofit of their choice.
It has awarded more than
$33 million to over 8,000
nonprofits across rural
America.
“A better life is Bayer’s
goal. Farmers are invested
in their communities, they
root for their neighbors,
and they know when and
where there is a need,” said
Al Mitchell, Vice President
Corporate Engagement,
Bayer. “Farmers are
one of America’s best
resources, which is why
Grow Communities
partners with them to
direct donations to the
organizations they are
passionate about and
that make a positive
impact and a better life in
communities.”
To learn more about
the America’s Farmers
Grow Communities
program, visit www.
AmericasFarmers.com
or follow on Facebook
at facebook.com/
AmericasFarmers.
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COFFEE
Continued from Page A1
said, be began working
with two Janesville area
builders: Neumann Homes,
and then, following a
consolidation, Brookstone
Homes.
Three years later, he
said, he set out on his
own, in 1994, as a home-
based builder. Today the
company is a three-man
partnership focusing on
home remodeling and light
construction. The old mill
building on Front Street
soon will include office and
garage space for the family
building company.
Rhonda, an Edgerton
native, after marrying
Mark in 1985, enjoyed life
as a stay-at-home mom.
After several years of living
in Milton the family moved
to Janesville. As the kids
grew, Rhonda said, she
took on a variety of part-
time jobs. She enjoyed best
those jobs that allowed
her to meet the public and
work with people. Among
those experiences, she
said, was a job working in
a coffee shop in Janesville.
She also worked in retail,
in an assisted living facility
and in the Janesville school
district. She owned her
own vintage resale shop,
operating for six years from
the basement of the Chapel
Specialties building, she
said.
The couple dreamed
about the future. “We
always loved coffee and we
talked about it, we would
say: ‘wouldn’t it be cool
to open a coffee shop?’”
Rhonda said.
Opportunity to enter
into the coffee shop
business knocked after
Mark finished a remodeling
job at former coffee shop
Charming B’s, he said.
Rhonda described taking
the opportunity as “a no-
brainer.”
The couple opened
Mitchell House Coffee at
the former Charming B’s
location in January 2018.
The space could seat about
102 N. Main St, Edgerton 608-884-9622
Hours: Monday - Thursday 830am - 5pm,
Friday 830am - 6pm, Saturday 830am - noon
Rhonda and Mark Mitchell stand in space that will one day be a driveway into the Mer-
chants Row parking lot, joining with Front Street across from Ansley Avenue. The drive-
way is a City of Milton Public Works project. Running parallel with the new driveway, the
Mitchells plan to install a drive-through lane for a pick-up window which will be installed
on the building’s south side.
44 people, Mark recalled.
“It was a beautiful
space,” Rhonda said, but
as the lease came due, the
couple’s marketing plans
had evolved and a new
opportunity in the old mill
building offered a broader
lifestyle fit.
The couple closed
the former shop last
December.
Love at first sight
On a crisp fall Sunday,
upon first introduction to
the then-empty structure,
Rhonda said she could see
the project would be a lot
of work, but was intrigued
by its potential. “It was love
at first sight,” she said.
“We came with my dad,
and we walked through,”
Mark said. With three like-
minded family members,
he made an offer that day,
he said.
“You have to be able to
see beyond what’s there,”
he added.
Changes followed,
Rhonda said. In 2010, the
couple had returned to
Milton and purchased a
home on Madison Avenue.
With new goals in mind,
they sold the home to their
youngest son, Jared.
The move freed time and
resources to help fortify
Scaffolding is being used within an area of the mill that will
one day be part of Mitchell House Coffee. This portion of
the building will boast a two-story vaulted ceiling.
new plans.
Milling changes in
Merchants Row
Plans call for Mitchell
House Coffee to occupy
some 3,000 square feet of
mill space on the main
level, with a portion of
the space featuring a
vaulted two-story ceiling
with exposed beams. The
space has been approved
to seat 99 people, Mark
said. A two-bedroom,
1,500-square-foot
apartment for the couple
will be built on the top
floor. Some 1,700 square
feet of garage space will
serve as headquarters for
Mitchell and Sons Building
and Remodeling.
Exterior changes are
coming, too, including a
drive-through window
planned for the building’s
south elevation,
facing Railroad Park,
accompanied by a drive-
through lane which will
be separated by a median
from a new two-way road
which the city plans to
build, bisecting adjacent
land which is part of
Railroad Park.
Changes coming to
Ansley Avenue, located
across the street and
traveling perpendicularly
to Front Street, were in
place before the Mitchells
purchased the mill, Mark
said. City plans call for
the extension of Ansley
Avenue, through the park,
and terminating in the
Merchants Row parking
Photos by Kim McDarison
lot.
The Mitchell’s drive-
through lane is a part of
their project and will run
parallel with the city’s
Ansley Avenue extension
project, Mark said.
On the building’s
east elevation, facing
Merchants Row, the
Mitchells plan to construct
an 80-foot-long deck,
which will offer both entry
into the coffee shop and
a place for customers to
gather. A wrap-around
portion to the building’s
south side will bring
patrons into the shop’s
front door.
If more parking is
needed, Rhonda said, the
building’s north side could
be converted into blacktop.
With existing shared
parking in the Merchants
Row lot, the Mitchells
think they will add to the
mix of business offerings
in the area without added
overloads to already
available parking. The
coffee shop will be open
during hours that the
supper house and pubs
in the area are closed and
vice-versa, Rhonda said,
making them compatible
businesses when sharing
parking.
While the coffee house
in the old mill will offer
a similar menu as the
former coffee house,
Mark described offerings
available at the drive-
through window as more
“grab-and-go.”
With recent approvals
granted by the city council
on April 16, Mark said
next steps in the process
involve obtaining interior
permits. Demolition within
the property has been
underway since February.
The couple hopes to have
demolition completed
by mid-May, after which
construction will begin.
Tentative plans call for
the new coffee house to
be open by early next year,
perhaps in February or
March, Rhonda said. The
couple hopes to move into
the apartment by the end
of this year.
Warmth
“We love this community
because it’s home,” Rhonda
said.
Mark described the
couple’s commitment
to the community as
“fostered to a new level”
after opening the coffee
shop at its former location.
He noted the kindness
and support felt and
offered by the community.
He extended thanks and
praise to city staff for their
knowledge and help.
Mark noted the
uniqueness of experience
he found within the coffee
shop industry, pointing to
friendships formed with
customers, many arriving
to the former shop after
attending church, or to
meet friends, or hold
special occasions.
Rhonda, too, noted the
propensity for customers
to develop friendships
at the shop, describing a
certain kind of openness
that came with the casual
atmosphere.
While they realize
living in the middle of a
business district will be a
new experience, both said
they are ready to embrace
a community-centered
lifestyle, and the upstairs
apartment will have an
intimate gabled outdoor
space, which will afford
some privacy.
Mark and Rhonda shared
their mutual excitement
about repurposing the
mill and creating a new
centerpiece that the
community can enjoy and
embrace.
Expressing the couple’s
hope that the new building
will serve as a community
gathering spot, Rhonda
said: “When you walk into
Mitchell House Coffee, we
hope it’s more than just
another coffee shop. We
hope it’s a place where new
friendships are forged and
old ones strengthened;
where you can cultivate
play and rest in your life;
where you can dream
and study, and laugh, and
share tears all over a cup of
something delicious.
“We wanted a fixer-
upper because we enjoy it.
We are ready to embrace a
new challenge.”
See related story on A5.