MINNETONKA, Minn. – A small Minnetonka community mourns the closure of a beloved community space.
The Caribou Coffee Shop in Glen Lake will close on Tuesday, but this place will live on in the relationships that grew here.
The Sunday rush hour after church at the Glen Lake Caribou was busy as usual. But manager Hannah Wiff’s knowledge of each customer’s order helps speed things along.
“Robyn gets a craft press with vanilla, Lynn gets her little light roast with two raw sugars and some oak milk in it, Kevin gets hot chocolate,” Wiff said.
She quickly learned that this job was unlike any other.
“After working here for a few months, I thought, I like the people, I like the location, and I could see this as my place,” she said.
The customers are a community as close as family. A group has been meeting here every Sunday after church for 15 years. Another group is a collection of couples and friends who have met by consistently coming here for coffee almost every week for the past 10 years.
“As much as I hate admitting that financially,” said customer Robin Parker.
For many, they don’t really come here for the coffee, but for the conversations they have over a drink.
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“We all share our burdens and our happy moments, and someone goes on a trip and we all hear about it,” said customer Suzanne Ransom.
For Parker, this coffee shop started as a study hall while she attended high school. Now it has a bigger purpose.
“I was diagnosed with MS last year, and there were days when it was hard to get out of bed, and I had to stop working at least for now,” Parker said. “And it’s still part of the joy in my life and a reason to get out of bed.”
Out of 309 Caribou Coffee locations in Minnesota, this one is closing its doors on Tuesday, mainly because foot traffic is no longer as profitable as a drive-thru.
“We’re all just broken [laughs]! It’s like taking a part of our lives away,’ Ransom said.
They hope that there will be another coffee shop in the empty space. Until then, they will enjoy every last sip.
Marielle Mohs
