Owners Changing at Jeremiah's Coffee Shop
Article by Dave Kurtz | KPC News | June 6, 2020
AUBURN — When she applied for a job at Jeremiah’s coffee shop in Auburn five years ago, Dawn Burris “almost didn’t get hired,” said founder Jeremiah Otis.
On Kyrstin Kocher’s work application for Jeremiah’s last summer, she said she someday intended to own a coffee shop, “but not this one.”
As it turned out, however, Burris and Kocher now are the co-owners of Jeremiah’s on the southwest corner of Auburn’s courthouse square.
After eight years building Jeremiah’s reputation and moving to its new home in December 2017, Otis finds himself ready for a new challenge in the nonprofit world.
As realized his desire for change, Otis said, “What we have created is something that I didn’t want to damage. I need to scratch this itch, I need to explore these other areas, but I can’t ruin what we’ve created.”
That led him to offer ownership of the shop to Burris in late March.
“No one should expect their experience here to change” with the new owners, Otis said. As manager of the shop’s customer experience over last five years, Burris has “taken Jeremiah’s to a whole new level,” he added.
Burris agreed that she aims to maintain the status quo
“We really want to make this seamless,” Burris said. She said customers can expect to see some green plants and eventually “a fresh spin on desserts” when they are reintroduced. Otis occasionally will return as a guest dessert-maker.
Burris worked 13 years as a paraprofessional for DeKalb Central schools before she walked into Jeremiah’s and “practically demanded” an application, Otis said. She eventually overcame his worry that she was too busy to work for him.
“People, service, that’s where my heart is,” Burris said. “We’re about connecting with the community, and I think it’s important that we continue to do that, and maybe find new, interesting ways to do that.”
Also, she said, “It’s really fun to make drinks for people … to serve them things that they absolutely love.”
Kocher was working with special-needs clients when she left to join the staff at Jeremiah’s last August.
“I love people, and this job gives me the opportunity to love them well … and I also love coffee,” she said.
“When I started here, I fell in love with the community,” she added. She sees Jeremiah’s as “a safe place they can come to.”
Explaining his departure, Otis said, “Some of us are cursed with the need to always do something new — cursed or blessed.
The coffee shop, he said, “was a solution for people not being connected. Now I want to tackle a new problem.”
Otis said the COVID-19 pandemic helped speed his career change, “because the whole world’s in disarray right now.”
As for the exact nature of his next endeavor, Otis said, “I can’t tell you what that looks like yet.”
He does know that for the next few weeks, he plans to sleep later, enjoy some “down time” and support the shop’s new owners.
Recently reopened with reduced hours and seating, Jeremiah’s will expand both when the next phase of Indiana’s reopening begins June 14, Burris said.
Otis expects to be a regular customer, experiencing the new feeling of paying for his coffee. He wants people to know that he and the new owners are working together.
“It’s something we’re doing together,” he said. “This is an exciting time for all of us — me included.”
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/thestar/article_edaa115c-6426-584b-a16f-0ecd83e7b704.html