30 Years Of Door County Coffee
It is truly hard to believe that we have been roasting the best coffee on the planet for 30 years. Thirty years of coffee, growth, change, memories and so much more. 30 years of Door County Coffee is something we are so blessed to even be talking about, and we have had so much fun reminiscing about everything that has happened in the 30 years, by starting with the beginning.
While cruising up the beautiful Door County coastline to visit some friends, Vicki Wilson and her husband Doug couldn’t help but think – “How can we move here, and make this our home?” While they did visit Door County often, they found it hard to leave this time – they really wanted to make this home. But how? And after they got home, Vicki read an article about a coffee roaster. Then the thought dawned on Vicki – there is no really great quality coffee in Door County! She thought there are really great, high quality businesses there and they deserve to serve the freshest, best quality coffee and that was the thought that started it all.
Soon after Vicki and Doug began to research and learn all they could about the best kinds of beans, how to roast them, and how they could make this into their reality. Together, they made the perfect pair. Doug is an engineer and Vicki worked in marketing and as a buyer and she had the ideas behind it all. After learning everything they could, they settled on a location in Forestville and that they would roast Specialty Class 1 Arabica Beans, the top 2% of what is grown in the world. They were taught about roasting by Michael Sivetz who created and perfected Fluidized Air Bed Roasting!
A building was purchased, green beans were delivered to Door County Coffee for the first time and the first roaster was christened with just 2 employees. A dream from a road trip had become a reality and Doug, Vicki and their sons Doug Jr. and Conrad were the newest residents of Door County. Fast forward a few years and it became apparent that Door County Coffee was outgrowing the space in Forestville and the Wilson family began construction on a 10,000 sq/ft building in the current location in Carlsville, further up the peninsula. They now had more roasting space, more machines and more employees, and continued to grow every single day!
We are fortunate to have some amazing long-time customers who took a chance on us in teh early years, many of which are still with us today, such as Inn at Cedar Crossing, Festival Foods, Woodman’s, White Lace Inn, Stone Harbor, Scaturo’s and Dal Santos! We wouldn’t be anywhere without the support of these wonderful partners and so many more – we are so grateful for them. We still make our weekly deliveries to them and we ship to so many others across the county, and the best part is seeing those same faces we met 30 years ago.
As the building and the business have grown, so has our amazing staff. A lot can be said about a company, where every person looks forward to coming in every day, and doing something they love. If you asked any employee at Door County Coffee, they would tell you the same thing. We have just over 60 employees now, a big change from the original two, and if you ask Vicki, she will tell you all the same things as our employees. How lucky we are to work with such wonderful people, roasting and selling a product we all love, enjoying the company of each other every single day. We truly have the most fun at work and are one big family, which is a huge part of why we are still here making the best coffee on the planet 30 years later.
If you walk thought the door of the facility now, you will find smiling faces in the café, whipping up drinks and delicious meals, a great team of people roasting, picking and shipping orders and the entire Wilson family, from Doug and Vicki, to their son Doug Jr and his wife Katie, and their son Conrad and his wife Amanda - yes it truly is a family business! On some days, you may even see the newest members of the Wilson family Livia and Elsie, both born in early 2022! You will find employees who have been there from 3 years to 29 – and everything in between. The biggest reason behind the success of Door County Coffee is Vicki and her family. They truly are a remarkable family, and why Door County Coffee has enjoyed year after year of success.
We also wouldn’t be anywhere without our amazing customers who have been with us since day 1. We are so thankful for all of you and owe so much of our success these past 30 years to you. We can’t wait to share all the fun planned for year 30, so stay tuned!
Coffee Cheers to 30 years!