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Small town café expands
horizons with organic & fair trade ethics
LINDSTROM, Minn. -- Did you say there is an ORGANIC CAFÉ up in Lindstrom?
You betcha -- dead center of Swedish country, the legendary Break On 8 Café
in Lindstrom has re-opened with new owners, big-city espresso and a hip, new philosophy.
The café's grand opening was Saturday, Nov. 6, and guests were treated to
free Peace Coffee Tastings (a Minnesota pride company vending Organic Fair Trade
Coffee [www.peacecoffee.com]) and samples of the café's organic bakery, authentic
chai tea, hot chocolate, information on fair trade and live music by African musician
Kenneth Wanaku.
"We wanted to continue the 'Break on 8' name because of the welcoming service
and concept of the fresh healthy food," says Liz Sterbentz, co-owner. "Our
twist on it is to provide coffee and food that is good for people, the environment
and the people that prepare it -- the Fair Trade label that Peace Coffee provides
us with ensures that. The Peace Coffee Company is just the greatest to work with
and they have embraced our effort, helping us connect with like-minded people.
"They are largely an 'urban' brand, but seem to like us a lot and quickly saw
that we are all working toward the same goal -- a better world."
The café unveiled its new house blend at the open house.
"Peace Coffee in Minneapolis is helping us develop a custom dark roast -- believe
it or not all of us out here wanted an even darker roast than they brew -- something
authentically Swedish," says marketing and bakery manager Woody McBride. "Something
really thick -- us 'country folk' must be more hardcore than 'them city slickers'
-- just kidding."
The café held a contest to pick the name of the new brew. Some of the many
suggestions submitted were: 8 o'clock, Wild River Blend, Wake-me-up and Lutefisk
Blend.
For those unfamiliar with the terms "No GMO," "Organic," "Shade
Grown" and "Fair Trade," McBride noted that organic is "food
that is grown or made without the use of genetically modified organisms, chemicals,
additives or pesticides and is as healthy as nature conceived of it."
"And that is what our kitchen and bakery delivers," he says. "We are
part of an important revolution really. More and more people are waking up and starting
to see the correlation between chemicals in their food and health problems such as
cancer, food allergies and obesity. We get our ingredients from the local farmers
and food co-ops that truly follow the 'Think globally -- act locally' concept."
The evolving organic bakery features items such as luxurious oversized Morning Buns,
More Swedish than Swedish Almond Cake, Caramel Apple & Raspberry Lemonade Scones,
daily fresh baked Bagels, Vegan and Wheat-free items, Savory Tarts, Seasonal Pies,
Banana Bread, Wraps, Soups and the signature "PEACE Bread" herbed with
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
"It is all quite special made with creativity and love each morning," says
McBride.
The staff is comprised of local lakes area residents and high school and college
students.
"Many commuters stop by before their one-hour drive to the Cites," says
Sterbentz. "We are open earlier than anyone else and all of our bakery is usually
out by 6 a.m. I hope to start having daily High Tea Parties this winter."
The original idea to provide organic products began when Liz wanted organic Fair
Trade Coffee. Her last session before graduating from Augsburg College a year ago
was a traveling class to Cuarnevaca, Mexico. After lecturing the group about the
economic crisis stemming from U.S. and Mexican corporate exploitation of workers
and the industry, the economics instructor challenged everyone to "get out of
the stands and get onto the playing field in helping people and the world economy
-- and my business partner Bruce Wennberg agrees 100 percent!" she says.
The Fair trade coffee and fruit label provides for a livable wage to the farmers
that produce the products and allows for democratic working conditions. "Shade
grown" is an important environmental consideration that means the coffee is
grown under the shade of taller trees and protects the birds and other wildlife that
live in the ecosystem. The cycle of natural fertilizing is fostered as well. Break
On 8 also supports local organic and all-natural farmers and offers vegan and vegetarian
items.
"Bruce and I meditated on the vision for the business for a month before we
made the decision to forge forward," Sterbentz says. "It was a leap of
faith, but it has felt right all along. Our organic values and all natural products
are a relatively new concept in the community but our clientele keeps growing. We've
been doing serious espresso and trying to get the word out that we are open again
and every day is better and better!"
The Café is open daily from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offers breakfast, lunch,
a full coffee and tea menu, fresh daily bakery, catering, private meetings, custom
blending of coffee, bulk orders, delivery, free parking, a reading room and friendly
faces.
Break On 8 Café is located at 12985 Lake Blvd. in Lindstrom, Minn., northeast
of the Twin Cities between Forest Lake and Taylors Falls. The café is open
daily at 5 am. For more information, call (651) 257-7155 or visit www.breakon8.com |
| Dec 2004 |
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