Shepherds Community Café Now Open!

Matthew Gilliland (right) smiles as he shows off one of the café's specialty blended coffee drinks as his co-worker Benjamin Page laughs in the background. (Photo provided by Megan Burke megan.burk@jounaltimes.com.)

Shepherds Community Café officially opened for business on Monday, July 23rd, 2018.

The café is a collaboration between Community State Bank (CSB) and Shepherds College and will provide training, work experience and jobs to local students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

“The café isn’t just about coffee,” said Café Manager, Brooke Clark. “It’s about acceptance, inclusion, utilizing our student’s unique talents and bringing our communities together. Our students are excited for this unique experience and an opportunity to showcase the skills they are learning at school.”

The café will serve a variety of coffees and specialty drinks and feature Stone Creek Coffee (Milwaukee, WI). They'll also feature seasonal specials and delicious baked goods. A detailed menu is available on this site.

The café was part of an extensive renovation of Community State Bank's Union Grove office location (1500 Main Street, Union Grove, WI 53182). The renovation also features a re-designed lobby, a new drive-thru experience, and the addition of a Smart ATM.

​One of the new features of the café and part of the bank renovation was the addition of "Community Rooms". These are informal meeting spaces that are available free to members of the community.  Room reservations can be made through the mysccafe.com website.

“Shepherds Community Café is so much more than your average community coffee shop. We’re actually changing people’s lives and providing an opportunity for them to grow,” said Scott Huedepohl, President and CEO of Community State Bank. “We’re beyond grateful to work so closely with Shepherds College and can’t wait to share this with our community.”

Detailed information regarding contact and hours of operation can be found below.

Read the featured story in the Racine Journal Times.