Aunt Helen’s Coffee House is a unique, quick service restaurant that serves specialized coffee, tea, and an array of breakfast and lunch options. Owners Aimee and Bob Hutson continue to grow their business by providing high quality products, creating unique and healthy dining options, delivering an unmatched level of customer service, and giving back to the community.
Aimee was a Director in the childcare service industry for most of her career, and understands the importance of customer service, employee management, and work place culture. Bob has worked in the food service industry for 26 years. He leveraged his experience in the design and operations of Aunt Helen’s Coffee House. The concept was inspired around their Aunt Helen, who recently celebrated her 104th birthday. Her personality will continue to live on in the business for many years to come.
Aimee and Bob started working with the East Colorado SBDC in October 2016 to develop a business plan, research funding options, and receive counseling on business opportunities in Greeley.
Working with the SBDC kept them on track with deadlines and scheduled meetings.
Both Aimee and Bob were working full-time jobs at the time, and the deadlines kept all projects and tasks easily obtainable and focused. The SBDC also helped provide them the opportunity to meet with industry experts who helped guide them throughout the process.
Aunt Helen’s Coffee House opened in March 2017 and has been a flourishing asset to the community. They created a welcoming environment that is based on the unique personality of Aunt Helen, but they have bigger goals in mind. They have a strong passion to give back to the community, which has helped them grow their business. Each month, they partner with local charities to create marketing promotions and provide fundraising opportunities. Their community first business model allows customers and charitable organizations work together to improve the community.
The model has proven to be successful for Bob and Aimee. After 7 months of operations, they were able to meet their financial goals. They have quickly established themselves as a gathering place for the downtown community. Currently, they are serving over 150 guests per day, and the word is quickly spreading around the community through an inventive marketing campaign. There are few places people can go without seeing an Aunt Helen coffee mug or meme. They have been successful as being an organization that truly supports the community.
