Nautical Coffee Company- coffee hotter than your mom and stronger than your dad
I imagine the title of this story grabbed your attention right quick. But those are the words that Kaleb and Alyssa Woods use on their website promoting their new brick and mortar coffee shop located on the square in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
The Nautical Coffee Company, offering popular coffee drinks, a few non-coffee drinks, drip coffee, and a limited menu of sandwiches and pastries, held its grand opening October 29th. It seemed by the steady flow of customers; Baraboo embraced the addition to the community and another choice to get their java fix.
Kaleb and Alyssa, both born and raised in Delevan, Wisconsin, two hours South of Baraboo, made their way up to the Baraboo area three years ago. “I've known Alyssa since seventh grade. So, in seventh grade her and I got together. She's just always been my best friend. It was very easy to, you know, go and be business partners with her. This was an easy decision, no doubt,” said a starry-eyed Kaleb.
The couple now married and living on Lake Wisconsin in Merrimac, Wisconsin, Kaleb said he had been working in Madison. He admitted he never really wanted to live in the city. “Our realtor had showed us different surrounding areas and the lake is what drew us to Merrimac. Living on a lake, it's like you're always on vacation,” he said smiling. Kaleb said he and Alyssa’s “happy place”, has always been near or on the water, hence the name Nautical in their business’s name.
The Woods consider themselves natural entrepreneurs. Having dabbled in the wedding business, the two had a conversation one day about what they love, truly love. “Coffee!”, exclaimed Kaleb. “It's always been our peacemaker. It brings us together. It's nice to go get coffee. There are amazing coffee spots here. Shout out to all the coffee shops in the Baraboo area. We love all of them. We just wanted to add a different twist to it.”
Expanding on their love of coffee, Kaleb and Alyssa started the Nautical Coffee Company mobile coffee shop. Having operated their mobile coffee shop this past summer, Kaleb said, “It's such a cool idea, we thought that was so unique, we just loved the idea. Honestly, we didn't think we'd be in a brick and mortar as quick as it happened.” The couple admitted operating their mobile shop this past summer was a lot of fun, so much so, that it didn’t seem like work. They are looking forward to opening the mobile shop next summer with a twist, converting it to a drive thru.
The couple are strong believers in supporting local businesses, and do so by sourcing most of their products locally when they are able. Kaleb said they source their coffee beans from Spirit Lake Coffee Roasters located in Baraboo.
The two having a deep appreciation for music Kaleb and Alyssa incorporated a small stage in their shop to host local talent. Wisconsin Dells musician Marc LaMere, kicked off the shop’s Saturday Morning Concert Series during the grand opening. The series runs through Saturday, December 10th. “I'm a local musician, myself”, Caleb said.
Having played at area wineries and bars, the minute the two had their own venue that had a stage, Kaleb said, “You better believe we were going to offer live music. It's just my favorite thing in the world. I found a network of musicians that I met through playing, amazing people like Marc and other artists that come through. We're excited to have live music on Saturdays, because you hear about coffee shop music all the time, right? So that was something we definitely wanted to jump on right away.
The shop itself has a unique look to it and Kaleb was quick to give credit to Alyssa. “It was a collaboration, and I definitely give her the credit. She had the vision for what she called eclectic. She's very into vintage, she's an old soul. Like today she was dressed up as a 70s hippie, that's her era. She's not from that era, but that would be her era. She wanted to incorporate some sort of that feel in addition to obviously the nautical theme, the ship, the ship’s wheel, and different scenery of the beach. That was her vision.” Kaleb and Alyssa have also incorporated a small game room featuring the full-size stand-up video game versions of Pac-Man, Centipede, Millipede, Crystal Castles, and Missile Command.
As for the future of their company, Kaleb said that was a real good question. “We feel like just kind of living in the moment. It's hard for me to do. I feel like the gears are always spinning, I'm always trying to think of like what could be next. The trailer happened and we had no intention of going to a brick and mortar as quick as we did, but we did it when we had the opportunity. So, if the stars align and we do get the opportunity to expand one day, we absolutely will. But I think at the moment, we want to ride this wave and just enjoy it. It's been a lot of fun and I'm excited to kind of just grow this location, see its potential, and what more we can do. We're just very blessed to find a location here on Third Street. What's not to love down here?”
Visit the Nautical Coffee Company at 108 3rd Street in Baraboo, Wisconsin, or on Facebook.
Hours:
Monday 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am - 1:00 pm
Closed Sundays
