Shepherds community café supporting students with intellectual disabilities one cup at a time

Imagine that a cup of coffee could support a local college and provide work experience for students with intellectual disabilities. Now imagine that a café embracing this vision was coming to a community bank in Union Grove, Wisconsin. It’s a vision that Community State Bank (CSB) President and CEO, Scott Huedepohl presented to Shepherds College in 2017 and now it’s becoming the reality known as Shepherds Community Café. 

​“As a community bank, this is what we’re about every day,” said Huedepohl. “We build the communities that we serve. So when this idea originally crossed my mind, I didn’t even hesitate. I knew this was something that our bank, Shepherds College and our communities could really get behind and support.” 

Shepherds College, also located in Union Grove, provides a three year post-secondary education program for students from all over the world with intellectual disabilities. One of the three programs that Shepherds College provides for their students is a culinary arts program. 

“The café will provide our culinary students with significant experience within the context of a true business setting,” said Shepherds College Executive Director, Tracy Terrill. “This will enhance the overall culinary training program and introduce more people to the work and mission of Shepherds College.” 

The café will be staffed by Shepherds College students and all proceeds will directly benefit the college. The college’s culinary staff is currently working with Stone Creek Coffee in Milwaukee to develop a business and training plan for the students as well as a beverage menu for the upcoming café. 

“Stone Creek Coffee was founded with the principle that we have a social obligation to the communities around us,” said Stone Creek Director of Partnerships, Marshall Welch. “The Shepherds Community Café project is a great embodiment of our social obligation and we couldn’t have been more excited for the opportunity to use our love for coffee as a conduit to create social and educational outlets for the students at Shepherds College.” 

Shepherds Community Café will be located inside of Community State Bank’s Main Office at 1500 Main Street in Union Grove. The café, in addition to the entire bank, is currently in the process of being renovated and is set to host a grand opening this spring. 

Among the many new additions to the bank office, CSB also designed two community rooms that will be directly connected to the café. The rooms were created to provide local businesses and service organizations with a space to network, meet and team build free of charge. Both rooms will be available by reservation and will have access to café services. 

“Shepherds Community Café is going to be huge for our community and the surrounding communities in Southeastern Wisconsin,” said Huedepohl. “This is an opportunity to make our morning coffee routine into a movement that will make a difference in the lives of these students forever.” 

Any media related questions or requests can be directed to Community State Bank’s Communication Coordinator, Ellie Heigl: [email protected] or (262) 878-3763. 

---