Here we are – what an exciting time! One year ago, on this day, 12 Stones Coffee Company opened our doors to the public. God gave me this dream 20+ years ago and even now continues to breathe life into it and expand the vision.
Reflecting on this past year, there are some people that I need to thank. First and foremost, my husband and co-owner, Troy. He has been my architectural designer, GM of the build-out and guy who knew all the contractor lingo, my AV sound/lighting super star and major supporter of my dreams – all while working his main full-time job and helping keep our family schedule on track.
We also need to say a special thank you to Kirkwood Bank and Trust and Jarrod Auer specifically for believing in our dream and helping us to finance it; to our landlord and church home – New Life Church Bismarck – for being a partner and cheerleader all along the way; and to my best friend Monica and owner of Sparrow Ground Boutique, who helped me bring the design vision to life. When I moved to Bismarck and we became best friends 2 years ago, it’s like God took what I was seeing in my mind and placed it in hers too. It made designing seem more flawless & fun than it probably should have been – lol. We also need to thank Arrow Industries for doing something they had never done before and custom building our beautiful wood bench seating and bar top seating. They have become much commented on pieces of the coffeehouse. Arrow took the custom design my husband drew, listened to what we envisioned and exceeded our expectations.
Of course, we are thankful for all the contractors that worked on 12 Stones Coffee. And, we can never express enough how much we appreciate our family and friends who were prayer warriors for us through the process. God has surely blessed us with some wonderful people he’s placed in our lives – including the baristas who have worked here in the past year and helped us share our vision with each person that’s walked through the doors.
When I look back through the years and the starts, stops and moves that kept the coffeehouse dream from becoming a reality sooner, I can see the purpose through it all. The prep that God was doing in our lives. Did I feel completely ready when the time came? The truth is some days yes, and other days I wanted to crawl up in a fetal position. Some days are still like that – ha ha. It feels so much safer to stay on the dreaming side of the dream…much more comfortable, less stretching involved, less faith involved. The action part is where we step into our purpose, where we begin to carry out the work God has prepared for us. I can hear His voice saying, “You have to step into the water before I’ll part it.” Read Joshua 4 and you’ll begin to understand where our name 12 Stones Coffee Company came from. Or, you can wait for my next blog post where I’ll share the story behind our name.
Until then, here’s to another day of great coffee and inspiring conversations at 12 Stones Coffee.