7 minute read
Brewing Up Success
from One Laker Nation
by Kelly Allee
It’s incredible how many relationships you can build with people in a little café like this.
Any coffee enthusiast knows there’s no experience quite like visiting a local, family-owned café. There are endless places to order coffee, but there’s something special about a place where customers are greeted by familiar faces, new friendships are routinely made, and the owners are deeply invested in the surrounding community. Central Illinois is home to many special family-owned coffee shops, including Joe Sippers in Effingham, Oliver Coffee Company in Shelbyville and Casey Coffee Company in Casey. The owners of all three coffee shops share a similar goal: creating community through coffee beans. They just so happen to share a similar past as well: they all are graduates of Lake Land College.
JOE SIPPERS CAFÉ – A REFLECTION OF COMMUNITY
When Emily and Brennan Debenham purchased Joe Sippers Café in 2018, they didn’t become the owners of any ordinary coffee shop. Joe Sippers had been a pillar of the Effingham community since it opened in 2005. As a Lake Land College nursing student in 2014, Brennan would visit the café himself almost every day before heading to class. Never once did he suspect he’d be running the place in just four years.
“It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time,” Emily explained. “We found out this iconic location of Effingham was available to own, and that just seemed like a no-brainer to us.”
The Debenhams had never owned a business before purchasing Joe Sippers, but the culinary environment was nothing new to them. Shortly after Emily graduated from Lake Land in 2008, she and Brennan traveled to Alaska and Las Vegas to study culinary arts and work in world-renowned restaurants. As owners of Joe Sippers, Emily and Brennan have pulled from this extensive experience to build upon the company’s framework. They’ve added catering
services, online ordering, a full bakery and even a roastery, which they use to craft their own products and supply coffee beans to local vendors.
While the Debenhams have found new ways to expand the business, they’ve always retained the heart of Joe Sippers: community. Continuing a tradition from the previous owners, the Debenhams curate local artwork and display countless drawings and paintings throughout the café’s interior. The entire shop is an evolving canvas, a collaboration of artists of all ages and an unforgettable experience for all visitors.
The art gallery is one of many features that makes Joe Sippers more than just a coffee shop. Here, visitors are encouraged to stick around and meet new friends in a personal, comfortable dining space. Whether it’s business partners holding a meeting, friends enjoying a book club, or even a nervous young couple on a first date, Joe Sippers is the go-to place to connect over a cup of coffee.
“The best part about it is just being a fly on the wall,” Brennan said. “You see so many different people come in, meet a new friend, experience the art and enjoy the atmosphere. It’s all special to witness.”
OLIVER COFFEE COMPANY – ALL OF OURS
About 30 miles northwest of Joe Sippers and residing in the heart of Shelbyville is Oliver Coffee Company, owned by Tom and Hannah Shoaff. When the two opened the business in 2022, they hoped to provide Shelbyville with a local, high-quality coffee option. It didn’t take long, however, for the café to surpass these goals and become a staple of the Shelbyville community.
Tom and Hannah met at Lake Land in 2014 when they both were students in the College’s Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) program. After graduating, they began PTA careers in Springfield and opened a photography business on the side. In 2020, they moved to Shelbyville, became new parents and began to consider opening their own coffee shop.
“The success of our photography business gave me confidence we could open a coffee shop,” Hannah said. “I figured we own one business already, so what’s another one?”
Tom was harder to convince. “I thought she was joking at first,” he said. “Then I really started to think about it, and I realized this was something we could do.”
The Shoaffs created the Oliver Coffee Company café by renovating a recycled shipping container into an operational restaurant complete with a drive-thru. All products are locally sourced, with coffee beans from Joe Sippers and other ingredients from neighboring towns. Outside the café, patrons gather on a spacious patio, which routinely serves as the host location for birthday parties, community movie nights, local vendors and fall festival markets.
While Tom and Hannah are the café’s legal owners, they stress that Oliver Coffee Company truly belongs to the community. In fact, the name
“Oliver” isn’t a reference to any specific person, and all customers are encouraged to reach their own personal meaning from the title. As for the Shoaffs, they connect the name to the phrase “All of Ours.”
“We love the idea that ‘Oliver’s Coffee is All of Ours,’” Hannah explained. “It’s a phrase that encourages so much connection and belonging, and it’s a reminder that everyone in Shelbyville is a part of this journey.”
CASEY COFFEE COMPANY – COME SIP AWHILE
Around the same time the Shoaffs were opening Oliver Coffee Company, Tasha Dashiell was considering a career change. Like the Shoaffs, the former Lake Land College softball player had started a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant, but she struggled to find fulfillment working in the midst of the pandemic. With three young girls at home, she assumed she would have to just continue her current job. That was until she saw a commercial for the local Casey Coffee Company.
“The ad literally said, ‘Have you considered a career change?’” Tasha said with a laugh. “I always loved coffee shops, and I felt like God placed this in my life at the right time. So, I took a leap of faith.”
In 2022, Tasha became the general manager of Casey Coffee Company, and she ultimately purchased the business just one year later. Trading the professional environment of healthcare for the unpredictable world of business ownership was a major adjustment, but Tasha quickly found joy in building relationships with customers.
Since assuming ownership of Casey Coffee Company, Tasha has found creative ways to place her unique spin on the café. Her seasonal menus incorporate pop culture themes, from “Harry Potter” in the fall to “Elf” during the winter, and ensure there’s always something new for even the most frequent visitors. She also partners with local businesses to host community classes, trivia nights and even open mic events. In 2024, she purchased “Sips in Motion,” a mobile food truck she uses to sell her products and spread the community of Casey Coffee Company throughout central Illinois.
Tasha describes Casey Coffee Company as a “third place.” It’s not home or work for any customers, but it’s a place where all are welcome to visit as long and as often as they like. With multiple company slogans prominently displayed inside the café, Tasha encourages community members and tourists alike to “Come Sip Awhile” and connect with friends over “Better Beans, Better Brew, Better Coffee.”
“There’s so much history in this small town, and I love getting to be a part of that and sharing it with people as they visit,” Tasha said. “It’s incredible how many relationships you can build with people in a little café like this.”
