☕️ A year of growth for Wildflyer Coffee

There will be no coffee puns in this story. So, suffice it to say that things are continuing to grow for Wildflyer Coffee, the Minnehaha Ave coffee shop that employs youths experiencing homelessness. The shop recently took over an adjoining part of the building to house its growing staff, and last year opened a second location in St. Paul. Business is up, donations are up. Most importantly, they’re employing more young people than ever.

I caught up with co-founder Carley Kammerer ahead of Wildflyer’s annual fundraiser on June 26 — open to everyone — to learn more about how Wildflyer got here and what it has planned next. 

Background 

Carley spent the first phase of her career in coffee — starting as a kid working in her parents' coffee shop in Wisconsin — and the next in social work. In the latter career she gravitated toward working with young people caught in the cycle of homelessness. It was rewarding work, but she was persistently bugged by the fact that most of what she could offer — a meal here, an outfit there, a temporary stay at a shelter — was useful but temporary. Steady employment was often the barrier: Without stable housing, it was hard to hold a job, which made it hard to get stable housing.