Ahh, coffee, how do we love thee?
“It’s a warm and wonderful thing, and it makes people feel good,” Denise Atkinson, part owner of The Anchor Coffee House, located in downtown White Bear Lake, says.
The coffee house, open since November, got its start as a mobile coffee shop back in 2015. “My whole family goes to the Joyful Noise concert [in Blaine] every year, and I was looking for a cup of coffee,” Atkinson says. “Thousands of people who would enjoy it, and there is no coffee in the entire complex. I told my family that next year, we were bringing coffee.”
The plans for the mobile shop were drawn up and executed by Atkinson’s two sons, Brad and Alex. The next year they were in business—driving all over Minn.
The mobile coffee shop is equipped with a full espresso bar, pot service, a cold brew tap and a large refrigerator. “It’s tight, but everyone has their own rhythm. When one person steps to the left, the other steps to the right,” Atkinson says.
After a year and a half on the road, customers started asking where they could sit down and enjoy a cup of their coffee. It was time for a bricks-and-mortar shop.
It was important the shop be in White Bear Lake. “White Bear Lake
is home,” says Atkinson. Another year and a half later, they found space at Margaux’s Table.
Atkinson and her husband, Paul, along with Brad and his wife, Heather, currently own the shop. “It’s wonderful when you work with family. It just flows,” Atkinson says.
The sentiment the Atkinsons feel about White Bear Lake is surely reflected in the feeling of the shop, which has many homey touches. “Every table is different, and every chair is different,” Atkinson says. “It’s like you’re coming into grandma’s kitchen on the farm.”
Here are some of The Anchor Coffee House’s unique, must-try items:
- Con-miel (latte with honey and spices)
- Maple latte
- Gluten-free muffins
- Paninis
