Coffee shop helps patrons Rise and Shine

Rise and Shine offers drinks, baked goods, breakfast and lunch options, and seasonal items, as part of the menu. Baristas, like Mya Sanchez, are ready to help get customers their orders. Photo by Julia Wolf

By Julia Wolf

Owning a coffee shop has been a dream of Alicia Merten’s for quite some time, to the point where she even looked into starting her own shop, from the ground up, about a year ago. She says that option seemed overwhelming, so she put the project on the back burner. Not long after that, Rise and Shine Coffee House in Cornell, on Bridge Street, popped up for sale.

“She’s [former owner Abby Meyer] done a beautiful job, so it was just kind of take-over, turn-key business,” said Merten. “With where I was in my life, it was just a perfect transition.”

Merten closed on Rise and Shine July 7, and officially opened as the new owner of the business July 8.

“I’ve been in healthcare for almost 10 years,” said Merten, working as a labor and delivery nurse.

She says it was getting to be a lot and a coffee shop was always in the back of her mind.

Merten, along with her husband, Logan, and daughter, Ella, live in the Lake Wissota area, and Cornell is about the same drive as her previous job.

“The stars just perfectly aligned,” said Merten. Merten and her husband are originally from the Colfax area, and she says she was missing that small-town feel. Since buying Rise and Shine, Merten says the Cornell community has been so welcoming.

“It’s been very nice,” said Merten. She also says a lot of the staff stayed on and were phenomenal in helping guide her through the transition.

Rise and Shine offers a drink menu, breakfast and lunch options, and seasonal specials.

Merten says the customer base seems to appreciate that the business has stayed mostly the same as it was under the previous ownership, and that she does not plan on changing the drinks or the names of the drinks.

“And I feel like they deserve to keep their drinks as their names, because they created them,” said Merten.

The baked goods available at Rise and Shine are made inhouse, bringing a homemade touch to the food sold. Merten says she is testing out some new things to add to the menu, as well.

As a whole, Merten says the look of Rise and Shine aligns with her hopes, and dreams, for the shop.

“Little by little, we’ve been adding just a few personal touches,” said Merten.

She is adding some vintage pieces on display and says she is slowing increasing the merchandise available for purchase, placed around the coffee shop. Since Merten enjoys hiking, camping and reading, a lot of the stuff will be geared toward the outdoors and book themes.

Next summer, Merten says she would also like to renovate the outside area, to create a small seating area.

“There’s not a ton of room, but we’re hoping just to have at least a couple tables,” said Merten.

She says she would also like to create a walkway to the back parking area and make the designated parking areas more obvious.

The boutique upstairs is a separate business called 715 Beauty, LLC, though the two small businesses help each other out when they can.

Rise and Shine is open Mondays, and Wednesdays-Fridays, from 6 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. The menu is available online, at riseandshinecoffeehouse. square.site.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="361"] A facelift is planned for the outside area of Rise and Shine next summer, as plans are underway for a small seating area outdoors. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="242"] Alicia Merten (left) says Rise and Shine Coffee House in Cornell, came up for sale at the perfect time for where she was in life. She, along with her husband, Logan (right), and their daughter, Ella (center), live in the Lake Wissota area. Submitted Photo[/caption]   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="241"] Alicia Merten, new owner of Rise and Shine, says the look of the business fit her dreams, but she is slowly adding personal touches to the place, such as vintage items displayed around the shop. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]