Let’s Shine Coffee: A Cup of Love in the Driftless
Let’s Shine Coffee is reflection of its creator
“I wanted to create the atmosphere of a coffee shop where I would like to go,” said Marnie Hofmeister-Pooley, owner of Let’s Shine Coffee in Hillsboro. Marnie’s personality, values, and philosophy of life are evident in every detail of her charming coffeehouse, from the eclectically furnished “living room areas” to the locally produced artwork to the ethically sourced products she serves.
As Marnie and I settled in for an in-depth discussion in one of those conversation nooks, I observed the laid-back manner of her diverse clientele. Young people on break from classes chatted about their plans for summer over cappuccino; an older couple joked with the barista as they pondered exotic alternatives to “regular coffee”; a woman’s gaze shifted from her laptop to an imaginary word cloud as she searched for the perfect phrase to describe the setting of her novel. I remarked that customers are not rushed to eat, drinks and get out.
“Right, right!” Marnie said. “Sometimes people remain here doing work or just reading for hours, and even the baristas, who don’t own the place, are passionate about that. They just love looking out here and seeing people enjoying themselves, relaxing, and I love that too. That’s what it’s all about. I’ve been to places where you feel like an annoyance sometimes, when you order something. I never want them to feel that way. I want them to feel that we’re so happy to have them have a good experience.”
In this frenetic age of anxiety, the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere of Let’s Shine Coffee is therapeutic. This is no fluke, given Marnie’s background as an occupational therapist assistant. Helping people to realize their own potential is part of her DNA.
As Marnie herself explained: “Sometimes people say that physical therapists help people learn to walk, and occupational therapists help them to dance…. Each human being has that human creativity that makes them themselves.”
I observed that creativity is a value for Marnie.
“It is,” she said, “and I think everybody is [creative] in their own way.” Marnie went on to describe the spontaneous creativity of a Renaissance fair, for example, where someone might just whip out a guitar and play it, and artists display their work without the judgment of a selection jury.
“Before the pandemic,” she added, “I wanted to place frames throughout [the coffee shop] and some cloth and yarn and what happens is, collectively who comes in, they weave—it’s like a large loom—they weave the fabrics of their choice, and each member of the community gets to do that… Eventually it creates a beautiful art piece, and that would go on the wall. So that’s in the works.”
Marnie’s love of art and encouragement of creativity are evident throughout Let’s Shine Coffee.
“So many pieces here are personal,” she explained, “like that banjo was my grandfather’s, and a lot of the artwork is my grandma’s…
“So, for instance, my grandma went to church here at the First Congregational Church, and there was this little older couple, and she wanted to draw something that depicted how small they were, so this is the leg of a person of normal stature, and this is the little couple that used to sit in the front pew…
“Little things have meaning, like that drawing over there, where that kiddo is on that bunk—looking like the Princess and the Pea bed. I went to school with that kiddo—he graduated a year ahead of me. He’s a great artist who currently lives in Chicago. So everything has a story.”
Indeed, each piece of artwork on display in Let’s Shine Coffee tells a story. The name of her establishment itself is a story of creativity.
“We all have something to offer ourselves and the community, and I think that people need a place to be feel inspired and cultivate that…My kitchen lead, Danielle Sullivan, for instance, reached out to me via the Internet and said, ‘Oh, I love the look of your place…’ She brings a love of baking; that’s her creation, her talent. She’s shining through that.”
Local artist and teacher Julie Johnson created the sign and other special touches to Let’s Shine Coffee; the pastry case and other items were crafted by local woodworkers.
Marnie elaborated: “I also wanted to…tap into local talent, whether it’s tapping maple syrup or fermenting black garlic, or growing vegetables, like Meadowlark [CSA Meadowlark Community Farm] does, or highlighting artists—a place to create—and shine.
“And I love live music, so we have our festival vehicle [an RV] whenever we go to the Driftless Music Gardens, or anywhere for that matter, and we listen to a band, we’ll put their sticker on our back wheel cover.” A vinyl reproduction of that wheel cover is displayed in Let’s Shine Coffee.
Musicians will have a chance to shine at Let’s Shine Coffee, starting with a performance by Eilers and Eddy on June 29th. In addition to music and art, Marnie envisions such events as author talks and poetry slams, enriching the cultural scene in the Driftless Area. The shop even has a bookcase, courtesy of the Hillsboro Public Library, stocked with good books for patrons’ enjoyment.
Ethical and environmental considerations matter
Marnie’s concern for humanity and the environment extends beyond her choice to source locally as much as possible. Coffee beans are grown all around the world, mostly in countries close to the equator, by low-paid workers.
“Coffee was grown by the poorest and drank by the richest,” according to Marnie. “…It was important to me find a roaster who actually met the plantation owners, or the harvesters, for that matter, so we know that, where all of our beans come from, the people actually doing the labor can support their families.”
Marnie related a story told by her roaster, JBC Coffee Roasters, in which Michael Johnson, founder of JBC, visited a coffee plantation in Central America to investigate a quality issue. It was apparent to Michael that the wealthy owner was making most of the money, but the laborers were not being treated fairly.
Michael inspected the truck that hauled what are termed “cherries” [coffee beans before they are processed] and noticed a large number of green cherries among the red ones. He gathered the workers and explained that only the red, ripe cherries should be picked. The workers complained that they were paid by weight, so they had to strip the coffee trees clean in order to make a living.
Michael placed 50 green cherries on one scale and 50 ripe cherries on a second scale. The weight of the ripe cherries was dramatically greater. It was clear to the workers that, even if it took more time to harvest only ripe cherries, they would be paid more for their effort.
The workers filled gunny sacks with juicy, red cherries, and loaded them onto the truck. Michael ran his fingers along the gunny sacks and licked the cherry juice from his fingers. The workers laughed but soon were following his example in a kind of celebration of their newfound strategy for increasing their earnings. The in-person visit by JBC enhanced the lives of workers on coffee plantations and resulted in a better product for the roaster’s consumers.
Closer to home, Let’s Shine Coffee takes steps to preserve the environment. “Our vegetable cuttings and eggshells, get fed to chickens,” Marnie reports, “and we will donate our coffee grounds to CSAs as fertilizer for their blueberries.”
The pandemic has curtailed some of Marnie’s plans, but in the future, she would like to cut down on waste by using glassware rather than paper cups.
An economic boon to the Driftless Area
Residents and visitors to the Driftless Area appreciate its natural beauty. They also appreciate a tranquil oasis of comfort on their way to and from the Great Outdoors. Let’s Shine Coffee’s location at the intersection of highways 33, 80, and 82 will draw many travelers headed to Wildcat Mountain State Park, Richland Center, and Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Along with the Hillsboro Brewing Company at the other end of Water Avenue, it will serve as a “bookend” to a revitalized downtown Hillsboro.
The building has a long, rich history, most recently as home to Hillsboro Brewing Company. When HBC outgrew the corner location, it moved to a huge former condensed milk building, where it operates a brewery, restaurant, and meeting venue that draws from throughout Southern Wisconsin and adjoining states. People in town for weddings and other events will certainly enjoy the atmosphere of Let’s Shine Coffee, just blocks away.
Currently, Let’s Shine Coffee, 815 Water Avenue, Hillsboro, is open 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Marnie expects that hours of operation will respond to the needs and wishes of clientele. “My own favorite time to visit a coffee shop is afternoon and evening,” she said, adding, “I would love to be open some evenings for open mic or poetry jam.” Marnie also plans to open her doors during the Sunday farmers market at HBC. Current hours of service and menu items, including drinks, food, and sweets, are listed on Let’s Shine Coffee’s Facebook page.
As a member of the Hillsboro business community, Marnie supports local cultural events, such as Driftless Music Gardens, with donations, a “win-win” approach to marketing her new venture. “I would love to put in a system where a certain percentage of sales would go to charities such as H.O.P.E. [an organization that supports cancer victims and their families].”
I asked Marnie how Let’s Shine Coffee fits into the economic development of the Driftless Area.
“We’re the face of what the Driftless can be,” she said, adding, “I would love to start selling bicycle passes here—trail passes, just to have that availability.”
I recalled my own astonishment at the beauty of the Driftless Area when I first took my suburban Chicago Scout troop here to camp in Eagle Cave many years ago. That led to a discussion of the importance of teaching children to appreciate nature.
“We go traveling to many different states,” Marnie said, “and we pull alongside of the road and take pictures. We do the same thing here…I try to teach my kids to be mindful, to look around, make sure you don’t take for granted where you are living. And they don’t. They are always pointing out things. What did [son] Gable say? - ‘Look at these beautiful tree mountains!’ when he was little. We have done a lot of geocaching, just finding treasures on a walk.”
Marnie and her husband, Ben Pooley, have a daughter, Savannah, as well. Both children are talented and creative, having performed at the Hillsboro Musicale and in school presentations of The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins, in which they had leading roles. I asked how she and Ben met.
“Ben went to Brown College in Minnesota to become a radio DJ.” His first radio job was in Mauston, near the Hofmeisters’ weekend place at Castle Rock. It so happened that Marnie went to listen to a band playing at a bar where Ben was celebrating his friend’s birthday, and we started talking, “and the rest is history,” she smiled.
Marnie Hofmeister became Marnie Hofmeister-Pooley in a way that would anticipate their joyful marriage. “He had me go on a scavenger hunt when he proposed,” recalled Marnie. Ben had arranged a series of clues along the way, including one of Marnie’s favorite song on the radio, her favorite flavor on a Culver’s sign, and her name in the window of a book store. These, and other signs, led her home, where Ben had prepared a seafood meal of mussels Alfredo. Of course, the engagement ring was in the shell of a mussel, but Ben presented it before Marnie ate it. “I had to say yes,” Marnie laughed.
An oasis of peace, love, and understanding
Let’s Shine Coffee, with its welcoming, relaxed atmosphere, presents a respite from the contentious world of politics and social media. When people sit down face to face and listen with their eyes and ears to each other, they understand that differences of opinion don’t reflect character flaws. “Common ground through coffee grounds” might be an appropriate motto for politicians.
“Social media is a blessing and a curse,” noted Marnie. “The tumultuous way in which we view each other through the lens of media has been skewed by others’ opinions and what they say other people think about other people, etc. I think that face value, really seeing people as people instead of media’s identification of them is needed, and being with each other and live interaction and the reality of what people are as opposed to a fictitious media non-reality is really needed. The richness of what people have to offer as humans is hopefully manifested and nurtured in a place like this, where we can all be together, even though we might have different views, and we can see each other as humans, instead of as ideas. It’s kind of like when people think that because you are for BLM, that you are against police officers. Obviously, that is not the case. Someone else has fed them that. If they actually get to know each other, they can find common ground. I may have misconceptions of them as well.”
“You’re encouraging that kind of communication and understanding in a place like this,” I said.
“I hope so. If we strip those misconceptions away and we are a community, we can really get to know one another.”
