Brewed Awakenings Celebrates 14 Years of Business

Brewed Awakenings celebrated their 14^th anniversary on Saturday, March 1.  A customer favorite, in 2024 Brewed Awakenings received the Best Local Coffee Shop Award from Saline Area Chamber of Commerce (SACC).  In addition, owner Kim Kaster received the SACC Visionary Award.

But Brewed Awakenings is more than a coffee shop – it’s a favorite gathering place.  I asked Kim how she was able to achieve this.

“When I wrote my business plan, I stated in the first paragraph that I wanted it to feel like a second home,” she said. “So, I painted with colors I felt were welcoming, included comfy chairs and installed plenty of outlets.  We have always let people know that they are welcome to stay as long as they like.”  

Kim’s mother-in-law added to the homey touch, and made aprons for her in pink, Kim’s “favorite color.  She made them for the first couple of years.  Eventually I went through them so fast, and she couldn’t keep up.”

Remarking on her best customer experience Kim chose to list a few, as “there is no way to answer just one because there are too many.  There is Mark, who was my first customer the day we opened, and who continued to come in for his mocha until he passed away.  There are the Vietnam veterans who come every Wednesday.  There’s the car group that recently celebrated 10 years of meeting here every Saturday.  There is Janet who comes in twice daily. I have developed so many relationships, and watched so many kids grow up and now graduating from college.  I wish I could name every wonderful customer encounter.  But believe me, they are all in my memory and close to my heart.”

Opening a successful business is no small feat.  So I asked Kim what was her motto to live by when she opened.  “Honestly, when I opened, it was ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ from Helen Reddy.  But I have learned a lot over the years.  One of the biggest is that mistakes are opportunities.  So my motto now is from Arianna Huffington: ‘Accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.’”

Go ahead; roar, Kim, roar. 

Visit Brewed Awakenings www.brewedawakeningscafe.com for more information.