HAWKS COFFEE SHOP

When I started talking about opening up a coffee shop, everyone would ask me, "WHY?",  "Do you love coffee?", "Have you always wanted to open up a coffee shop?", "Have you ever even used an espresso machine before?"...and the answer to all of them is NO! I don't LOVE coffee (though I do rely on my 1-2 cups a day to keep me sane), and it hasn't always been my dream (which just so happens to be living in a beach house somewhere that's warm year round where I swim with dolphins on the daily), and no, I had never used an espresso machine (those things are intimidating)!  So, you might be asking yourself, well then what the heck are you doing opening a coffee shop?  Great question.  See, a few years ago, I was in a new job and I just wasn't passionate about it...you know, like I wasn't super psyched to get up and go to work every day.  But...what I WAS excited about were the parties I would plan on the weekends for my friends, or planning my kids' birthday parties, or having craft nights at my house, etc.  I LOVED planning parties for people and watching all my loved ones have a good time.  

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I should tell you that I really love where we live.  I LOVE Sergeant Bluff, and therefore, I try to stay pretty involved in the community.  I am involved in Little League, Sergeant Bluff School Foundation Board, Parks and Rec, and Community Action Team.  Through this involvement in the community, I saw a need for someplace that people can go to relax, to socialize, to have events, to chill out, to study, to meet with clients, or to just grab a drink...

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So...a few years ago something pretty tragic happened in our lives.  My husband, Matt, and our two kids, Makenna and Parker, along with my brother, Bryan and his husband, Kyle all took a trip to the Black Hills to spend time with my mom and stepdad.  On Sunday, as we made our way back home, we got a phone call that changed our lives.  My stepfather of 25 years had passed away of a heart attack.  This shook our family and changed things for us forever.  My stepdad, Ed Hawks, was PASSIONATE about what he did...I mean, he lived, breathed, and eventually died doing what he loved.  He loved raising cattle - he would talk to you for HOURS about his cattle, whether you really cared to talk about it or not!  He had rough days, rough seasons, and even rough years - but he never wavered in his love for what he did and I have no doubt in my mind that when God decided that it was his day to go - he died a blessed and happy man. 

 

So, that got me thinking, what if I could help provide my community with something they need, while doing something I love, and also honor a man who was so many things to me, his family, and his community?  And that is how Hawks Coffee Shop came to be!!  I named it after Ed and I put his brand in the logo because the Hawks Hereford Ranch that was started by his great-grandfather and passed down from generation to generation no longer exists.  It died with Ed that day, however, his spirit and his passion can continue on at Hawks Coffee Shop!