Kendall’s Coffee opens Monday in Ottawa’s South Side – Shaw Local

It wasn’t long before Kendall Eslinger woke up to the smell of coffee.

After only a year in the coffee industry, Eslinger is making her dream of owning her own coffee shop a reality. Starting Monday, Kendall’s Coffee will open its doors in Ottawa for the first time.

Kendall’s Coffee, a mobile coffee shop offering a variety of standard and unique coffee drinks, will be available not only from its usual home base in the parking lot of 229 Estates, 1002 First Ave. on Ottawa’s south side, but also at events throughout the Illinois Valley. The shop will serve hot and cold items, including some of Kendall’s own flavor creations, using Starved Rock coffee beans.

I’ve always looked forward to my first cup of coffee in the morning, and I want others to look forward to theirs. I want them to start their day happy. … I always wanted to have my own business, so we went for it. It works great.

— Kendall Eslinger, Owner of Kendall’s Coffee

Hours of operation are 6:30am to 12pm Monday through Saturday, though these hours are subject to change as the coffee shop takes to the road. The menu, appearances, and changes to hours will be posted on the Kendall’s Coffee Facebook page soon.

“I’ve always looked forward to my first cup of coffee in the morning,” Eslinger said, “and I want others to look forward to theirs. I want them to start their day happy. … I always wanted to have my own business, so we went for it. It’s worked out great.”

Eslinger, an Ottawa High School graduate who lives in Marseille, discovered her passion for the craft while working as a barista at Spire Book and Coffee Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“I worked there for about a year and discovered that I loved making coffee and being involved with the community,” Eslinger said. “My boss had just opened that place and she was so successful that it inspired me to try this. She taught me so much about what it takes to run a business.”

The idea of ​​a coffee shop in her hometown set the whole Eslinger family in motion. Her father, civil engineer Nate Eslinger, renovated a trailer, put in counters and cabinets, and helped install the large espresso and latte machine that is the backbone of the operation. Her mother, Kristy Eslinger, is Kendall’s business partner and colleague.

This isn’t Eslinger’s first foray into the business world—sort of. She had a business selling “slime” when she was 13, and she’s also sold candles part-time in recent years.

This time she found it quite a task to overcome all the hurdles she had to take to get a food permit and arrange all the necessary paperwork.

But now it’s here and it will continue to run through the Chris Kringle Market during the Christmas holidays, as long as the weather allows for pedestrian traffic.

“Ultimately not anytime soon, of course, but I’m eager to get out of Ottawa, and I know I can take this with me wherever I go and get a start in a new place,” Eslinger said. “It’s perfect for me, and I can’t wait to get started.”