A Perfect Blend: Neighborly Gifts Adds MOKA to Coffee & Pastry Card Offerings
If you ask MOKA founder Joan Wilson how her two-decade career in pharmaceutical sales led her to build one of the Midwest’s most beloved regional coffee brands, she’ll tell you it started with a spontaneous decision on a drive home.
“I wish I could say I had a really driven plan,” Joan says with a laugh. “But I was driving home from Eau Claire one day, and I still remember exactly where it was — on a corner in Blair — and I just said, if I’m ever going to do anything different, I think today’s the day. And I quit my job. With no plan.”
That leap of faith led Joan to a coffee festival in California, where she met a small coffee roaster who encouraged her to open a Java Detour franchise location on the southeast side of Rochester.
Though the name didn’t stick — Joan later broke away from the franchise and rebranded the shop as MOKA — her love for the business only continued to brew. Fast forward to today, she still owns that little drive-thru near the Ear of Corn Water Tower in Rochester — along with 16 other locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota (and two licensed shops in Illinois).
We recently caught up with Joan as Neighborly Gifts welcomes all four MOKA locations in Rochester into our Restaurant Voucher program under the Coffee & Pastry category.
Neighborly: What does MOKA do to distinguish itself from the larger chains? And as you have expanded, how have you been able to maintain a hometown experience for customers?
Joan: First, I'm really thankful for the big chains, too. Every day I say thank you Starbucks for creating the market that really has exposed people to specialty coffee.
But for us, all our drinks are handcrafted, so we don't use any automatic or semi-automatic machines. We pull all of our shots of espresso. We handcraft our drinks. So everyone is trained to be a barista. So, if you want a double extra dry cappuccino, we can make that. And if you want a double iced mocha with an extra shot of espresso and maybe two pumps of caramel, we can really dial into what our customers want.
We also work really hard to treat our employees and customers well. We see people on their best day and their worst day and everything in between — and so just being able to engage with people on a personal level is important. Because we have so much gratitude for the people that come to MOKA every day and put their hard-earned money down on our counter.
Neighborly: With so many options to choose from, what’s the most popular selection off the MOKA menu?
Joan: Our top product is still the basic latte. And that might be a vanilla latte, a caramel latte, a hazelnut latte. But something that has become really popular is our Cool Brew. And our Jamaican blend is by far the winner amongst customers for Cool Brew. People would drink cold coffee in the summer and hot coffee in the winter, and that's definitely not the case anymore. People who love cold brew drink it year-round.
As for my personal favorite, I actually have two. I am an early morning espresso drinker, so either just shots of espresso or espresso with a little bit of steamed milk. And when I want a bit of a treat, I'll have a half-sweet Blanco Americano, which is our Blanco powder whisked with espresso and water.
Neighborly: MOKA is best known for its drive-thru convenience. But with the Peace Plaza location in Rochester, you changed it up a bit. Can you tell us about that decision?
Joan: I had this vision that I really love New York City, and I love local coffee shops. There are three or four coffee shops there that I like that are just small and they've got window seats up in front. And I felt like that space could — although a little bit bigger than your typical New York coffee shop — could have a similar vibe where people could come, talk, study, work, all the things. Especially with Mayo Clinic so close by.
Neighborly: One of the highlights of owning a coffee shop must be knowing that you get to be a part of a good start of someone’s day. Is that something you feel often?
Joan: Absolutely. It's our goal that somebody feels better after they've visited us than when they got there. And there is something about the culture of coffee geared towards setting the tone for your day, and I believe that, and I think it's a combination of having a really good coffee, whatever your choice is, and then having somebody engage with you at the level that you want to be engaged with early in the morning. So, I think it's super important, and we spend a lot of time focusing on how we deliver that first impression of the day.
Neighborly: Our mission is all about supporting local. And that feels like something we have in common. What do you see as MOKA’s role in the communities it serves?
Joan: One of the things I love about this business is that we can be really involved in our communities with coffee. So we do a lot of local events, from golf tournaments to fundraisers to the symphony — just all kinds of community things that we can be involved in. And I think it's really important. Bringing coffee to events is such an easy thing to do, and it's just such a positive way to engage with the community. We feel really good that the collaboration with Neighborly is just another way to keep building those connections.
