The Vineyard began years ago as a vision Ms. Davis' dad shared with local businessman Tom Sprague, the man who eventually sold the Vineyard to the Larkins.
Ms. Davis commented that when the Vineyard was at the Basset Complex (in the old mall area), the store did not receive much traffic. Now that the Vineyard is in the middle of Beaver Dam, next to highway 151 and near Beaver Dam High School, Moraine Park Technical College and Wayland Academy, the cafe attracts more people.
Davis said, "The transfer to the Shopko area was a very good move on the part of the Larkin family."
However, just as the Larkins were on the verge of closing down the cafe due to family commitments, Ms. Davis met with her family and friends to discuss the fate of the Vineyard. After much discussion, the Vineyard returned full circle to the Davis family: it started from her "dad's instrumental part in starting the Vineyard" and now has come into Ms. Davis' able ownership.
Ms. Davis wants to increase seating to include an area for private meetings and expand the selection of Catholic reading materials. Her most radical change will be to add wireless internet access to the whole cafe. As she said, "The wave of the future is to order things online." Ms. Davis is also considering converting the coffee shop into a non-profit organization.
While considering all of the changes, Ms. Davis commented, "I feel like I am a bridge from where the Vineyard is now to where it will go in the future."
Yet Ms. Davis emphasized that the essential character of the Vineyard will remain the same. She said, \"The Vineyard is a gathering place for believers, and a comfortable place for anybody.\"
The complete vision for the Vineyard is unique. Ms. Davis said, \"I want the Vineyard to belong to the community.\" She believed that the Vineyard was already a family and said \"I consider myself a member. We have a fabulous staff.\"
Ms. Davis added, \"We owe a lot to the retiring owners, the Larkins. I consider the business a gift.\"
The music teacher has a passion for enriching her community which also came out in her compassion for the homeless and downtrodden. She said, \"There are beautiful souls in those throw-away people.\" She hopes that a soup kitchen will open in downtime Beaver Dam through her help. For the time being, though, there are just a lot of ideas are being pitched around.
Davis had one final comment about the Vineyard: \"I hold my breath and wait to see what will happen next.\"
SIDEBAR:
Ms. Davis said that \"coffee is an up and coming thing,\" and she was spot on. According to an SCAA Market Report, \"In 1999 there were 108,000,000 coffee consumers in the United States spending an approximated 9.2 billion dollars in the retail sector and 8.7 billion dollars in the foodservice sector every year.\" This translates to literally tons of coffee imports into the U.S. each month. The International Coffee Organization concluded that, in 2007, the U.S. imported around 2 million 60 kilogram bags of coffee per month."
Ms. Davis commented that when the Vineyard was at the Basset Complex (in the old mall area), the store did not receive much traffic. Now that the Vineyard is in the middle of Beaver Dam, next to highway 151 and near Beaver Dam High School, Moraine Park Technical College and Wayland Academy, the cafe attracts more people.
Davis said, "The transfer to the Shopko area was a very good move on the part of the Larkin family."
However, just as the Larkins were on the verge of closing down the cafe due to family commitments, Ms. Davis met with her family and friends to discuss the fate of the Vineyard. After much discussion, the Vineyard returned full circle to the Davis family: it started from her "dad's instrumental part in starting the Vineyard" and now has come into Ms. Davis' able ownership.
Ms. Davis wants to increase seating to include an area for private meetings and expand the selection of Catholic reading materials. Her most radical change will be to add wireless internet access to the whole cafe. As she said, "The wave of the future is to order things online." Ms. Davis is also considering converting the coffee shop into a non-profit organization.
While considering all of the changes, Ms. Davis commented, "I feel like I am a bridge from where the Vineyard is now to where it will go in the future."
Yet Ms. Davis emphasized that the essential character of the Vineyard will remain the same. She said, \"The Vineyard is a gathering place for believers, and a comfortable place for anybody.\"
The complete vision for the Vineyard is unique. Ms. Davis said, \"I want the Vineyard to belong to the community.\" She believed that the Vineyard was already a family and said \"I consider myself a member. We have a fabulous staff.\"
Ms. Davis added, \"We owe a lot to the retiring owners, the Larkins. I consider the business a gift.\"
The music teacher has a passion for enriching her community which also came out in her compassion for the homeless and downtrodden. She said, \"There are beautiful souls in those throw-away people.\" She hopes that a soup kitchen will open in downtime Beaver Dam through her help. For the time being, though, there are just a lot of ideas are being pitched around.
Davis had one final comment about the Vineyard: \"I hold my breath and wait to see what will happen next.\"
SIDEBAR:
Ms. Davis said that \"coffee is an up and coming thing,\" and she was spot on. According to an SCAA Market Report, \"In 1999 there were 108,000,000 coffee consumers in the United States spending an approximated 9.2 billion dollars in the retail sector and 8.7 billion dollars in the foodservice sector every year.\" This translates to literally tons of coffee imports into the U.S. each month. The International Coffee Organization concluded that, in 2007, the U.S. imported around 2 million 60 kilogram bags of coffee per month."
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