Fika Coffee + Bake Shoppe thriving as new owners prepare for 2024

The Fika Coffee Hus at 313 Broad Ave. in Stanton is under new ownership and ready to thrive in 2024.
Bradley and Malinda Koehn of Stanton were announced as the new owners at the end of September, and the shop reopened as the Fika Coffee + Bake Shoppe. Bradley said he and wife Malinda have been Stanton residents for about six years.
“We moved into the community in 2017. I took a year’s commitment on a job here,” said Bradley.
Bradley added that he and his wife knew the shop had great potential in the community as far back as when it first opened.
“When Dwayne and Terri Vennerberg started this, we saw how this was going to take off. It was later under the ownership of Kena Woods, and we bought it from her,” commented Bradley.
When it came to purchasing the shop, Bradley said the decision came down to several points.
“One of my sons and his wife are involved, my other son is involved, and my older daughter is involved on the coffee shop side of things. My wife Malinda bakes and we’ve gone to farmers markets for a number of years, and the two were compatible. It wasn’t like we were looking for it, but it opened up for us to acquire, and we jumped in,” explained Bradley.
Malinda said she was very excited to hear that Fika was looking for new ownership.
“Once we heard it was for sale, we messaged her immediately to ask if we could buy it and worked out a price. We were very enthusiastic about it, and the community has really supported us tremendously,” advised Malinda.
While the shop has always offered lunch items, Bradley said one of the newer features includes soup and sandwiches, along with a peaceful ambiance.
“We brought that in when we took over. The lunch was always here with the former owner as I remember it. While I don’t remember what Jena sold for lunch and breakfast, it’s very likely the menu has changed since we took over. The soups we have brought in,” Bradley stated. “It’s a quiet and restful place. We don’t have T.V. or radio on in the background, and we’ve heard a lot of positive comments about that.”
Since they’ve added the newer menu items, Bradley said the community has responded positively to the new features, and he and Malinda are enjoying the opportunity to help keep the main street of Stanton relevant, along with other community organizations.
“It’s a positive move. The Farmers Mutual Telephone Company is offering a lot of incentives in an effort to bring business to town. We can’t take a lot of credit, because the telephone company is doing everything they can,” Bradley stated.
During certain times of the year, Malinda said they’ve gotten a fair amount of traffic from Stanton students.
“During football season especially, we had quite a bit of students stop in that were coffee drinkers, and now that school is back in session we’re anticipating that will continue. We’ve added Wednesday hours to accommodate the students,” commented Malinda.
While the bake shop is headed by Malinda, Bradley said operations are a joint effort among the entire family, and everyone makes decisions together. Bradley credits their recent successes on the business being a family venture.
“If it were to fall completely on my shoulders I don’t think it would work very well. We need everybody’s contribution to make the shop successful. In the bake shop for example, I can wash dishes and I can cook in the corner on the stove, but you won’t see me do much on the making side beyond mixing up the dough,” joked Bradley. “I can work with meats and eggs and that type of cooking, but I don’t think I can do the breads or the yogurt parfaits that are offered.”
Malinda said she loved the opportunity to expand her baking to Fika, rather than be limited to the home kitchen and farmers markets, and credits the family support as well.
“We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help. Our oldest son and his wife have helped tremendously and offer lots of ideas and suggestions,” said Malinda.
Now that the business is moving into the new year, Malinda said there are some things they’re looking at adding.
“We definitely want to add more of a variety of foods and baked goods, and we’d like to add some whole grain breads to the menu offerings. We’ve had people that would like us to be open on Friday for dessert and coffee, and we’re considering that option, as well as being open on certain evenings for supper. Bradley does a lot of grilling and smoking meats, and we’re offering that for lunch items as well. We have a lot of dreams for the place,” Malinda said. “A lot of it comes down to what the community wants and what we’re able to do. As long as we have help, we’re willing to do whatever we need to.”
Bradley said another potential expansion would be catering, but that idea is still very much in its infancy. Also, Bradley heaped a lot of praise on the previous owners of Fika.
“We didn’t start this. We’re taking up where others have left off and we’re doing what we can to keep it going,” Bradley stated.
Hours of operation are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesdays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn more at fikacoffeebakeshoppe.com, or the Facebook page, facebook.com/fikacoffeebakeshoppe. Bradley and Malinda can also be contacted at fikacoffee.bakery@gmail.com, or by calling 829-2233.