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Last year, I wrapped up a whirlwind of a 2023 with a look back at each month and its highlights. While 2024 has felt like less of a whirlwind, it has held some of the highest highs and lowest lows for Eli’s. At the same time, it has showed us how much we have to be thankful for. Through it all, there have been so many lessons learned, and we’re confident that Eli’s can move forward into this new year with hope.
Here are a few of the lessons 2024 has taught us.
Our team is our top priority.
We parted with some incredibly special people this year. My actual right hand, Lori, moved on before her wedding in June of this year. Destiny, our Morton and Metamora manager, moved out of the area and on to amazing opportunities elsewhere just after the Pumpkin Festival. Filling their positions with both internal and external hires was a process, but we’re absolutely loving the energy of a new leadership team! 2025 will look like us pouring into them and allowing them a lot more authority over leading their teams with heart. We’re confident that if they remain our focus, you will be the ones to benefit!
Trying and failing is still worth doing.
I’ve never known heartbreak in business the way closing a location felt. The sleepless nights trying to figure out what strategies to try, what pennies to pinch, when to admit defeat, when we were spread too thin. Wrestling through these conversations with Weston and our leadership team was a masterclass in small business.
Closing the doors at our Mackinaw Shop in September was the hardest thing we’ve done as owners of Eli’s, but I can never regret the decision to open there. We loved that building, that community, and what we were able to do in the two years we called Mackinaw home.
Creative collaboration is awesome.
My team has been asking for a refresher-style energized drink on our menu for a w h i l e. But because I couldn’t imagine enjoying these drinks myself, I was super hesitant. I couldn’t quite imagine how to do these in a way that felt like Eli’s – high quality ingredients, creative flavors, and something more crafted than cracking open a can of pop.
After Weston and I drug our feet through different ideas for a couple of months, we accepted help, handing the reins over to our leadership team. The result is the Twist Menu that you’ve been obsessed with since their launch in July! Since then, I’ve been way more intentional about getting my baristas and bakers’ input and help creating new menu items, with delicious results.
Historic buildings are worth believing in.
Ok this is one we’ve said for a long time. But honestly? I had come to a point with our Morton house where I didn’t quite believe this any more. I wasn’t sure an 1860s house was a great fit for our needs in 2024. But as we explored all options for Morton’s future, I just couldn’t shake the ‘heritage‘ pillar of Eli’s. All of my own memories working behind the bar as an eighteen year old. The collective memories of the countless things this old house has been felt too special to walk away from.
So we pursued what a renovation could look like, with our long list of demands for this old house. And in the end, the limitations makes this shop the charming, homey spot it is. There will never be a drive through here, so you have to wave to your neighbor. It won’t have double the seating capacity, so you have to swap chairs with the table next to you to make it work. The ordering queue will always feel a little tight, so you’ll make small talk with newcomers and friends. We’re so happy with the renovation in Morton, and we’re endlessly thankful for your support through the whole process.
Those are my biggest takeaways from a beautiful, gut-wrenching, inspiring year, friends. You allowed us to live this dream for an entire calendar year again, Weston and I’s tenth full year at Eli’s.
2025 is sure to hold many more incredible moments, including our twentieth birthday! We can’t wait to celebrate that milestone and all the regular, ordinary, beautiful moments in between with you. Thank you for believing in the power of local coffee shops and local community for another year. We love you!
– Rachel