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October 20, 2025
SISTER BAY – Happy Coffee – formally known as Skip Stone Coffee Roasters – in Sister Bay has unveiled a fresh new look.
Owners Lilly Orozco and Juan Ornelas said they recently gave the building a “major glow-up,” with a fresh coat of exterior paint as part of an ongoing rebranding effort.
Starting as general manager in 2019, Orozco said she partnered with the former owner in 2022 before buying the business with Ornelas in 2024.
“It’s been an adventure for sure,” she said. “We were just so happy with the opportunity.”
In March, Orozco said they rebranded the business as Happy Coffee – closing the shop for two weeks to complete a full remodel before reopening under the new name.
The shop’s outside refresh, she said, is the latest step in that journey.
“It’s been a work in progress…,” she said. “We knew we wanted to rebrand pretty much since we bought it. We were just waiting for the right time. We wanted to make it truly our own.”
It’s all in the name
Orozco said the new name – Happy Coffee – represents how they feel, and how they want their customers to feel when visiting the shop.
According to happycoffeedoco.com, the couple wants the space to be “joyful, welcoming and rooted in community.”
The timing, Ornelas said, couldn’t have been better for a fresh coat of paint – which aligned perfectly with their ongoing remodeling plans.
“It came at a perfect time for us,” he said.
Having previously worked with the Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC), Orozco said the organization reached out to her last spring about an upcoming grant for small businesses – specifically for outdoor and exterior improvements.
Since they eventually planned to paint the exterior, Orozco said they applied for the grant and got it.
“We were able to do the exterior faster than we had anticipated due to the grant we received, which we are very grateful for,” she said.
With the exterior paint job finished, Orozco said the rebranding and remodeling are now “pretty much” complete.
“We went to more neutral colors, a clean look inside,” she said. “We’re really happy with how everything turned out… we were able to make our vision come to life.”
Orozco said Ornelas deserves much of the credit for bringing their redesign vision to life.
“Juan does marketing for a living, aside from owning our business, so he’s kind of the mastermind behind our rebrand and image,” she said.
Deeply rooted in their heritage
Stepping inside Happy Coffee, Orozco said it’s clear that the décor reflects something personal.
“We’ve always been very vocal about how proud we are of our background, our heritage,” she said.
Both proudly of Mexican heritage – Orozco, born in the U.S. to immigrant parents but raised in Mexico, and Ornelas, born and raised in Mexico and now a U.S. citizen as of last year – the couple said their cultural roots are just as central to who they are as their entrepreneurial spirit.
Orozco and Ornelas said they met in Mexico, where their daughter was also born.
But a visit to Door County during peak fall colors 10 years ago changed everything – as Ornelas said he fell in love with the area, and they eventually made it home.
“We don’t have fall season in Mexico where I’m from, so I was like, ‘Wow, I love this place,’” he said.
Orozco said they decided it was the right place to raise their daughter, so they started “taking opportunities” and “working hard.”
“Our entire story is rooted in our Mexican heritage,” she said.
And now, Orozco said, they’re sharing that in Door County.
“We’ve been able to find ways to show that in some of the decor we have in the shop… and in our menu,” she said.
Orozco said she creates all the menu flavors and recipes from scratch – and right now, they’re cooking up a special seasonal menu.
“It’s going to be a very craft menu that will probably be rotating every now and then,” she said. “The main focus of it is to feature some of our favorite Mexican flavors.”
A look toward the future
Orozco and Ornelas said the rebrand and remodel were just the beginning as they’ve got expansion plans on the horizon.
“We’ve been actively looking at locations,” Orozco said.
Ideally, she said, a second location would be south of Sister Bay, but it depends on what opportunities come up.
Whatever happens, the owners said they agree that coffee will always be their top priority.
“For us, coffee is the most important thing for our business,” Ornelas said.
From the beginning, Orozco said they’ve been firm on keeping the business exclusively a coffee shop.
“We want our customers to come here specifically and exclusively for coffee,” she said.
Orozco said they take pride in offering great coffee, which happens to be roasted locally at Kick Ash in Ellison Bay.
“We’re one of the few shops that offer locally roasted coffee,” she said.
Except for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, Ornelas said customers can count on Happy Coffee to be open.
“That has been a big part of our business and goals – stay open year-round, every day at 6:30 a.m.,” she said. “Even during crazy snow days, we’re open for the locals.”
A love for their community
Having called Door County home for nine years now, Orozco and Ornelas said they’ve fallen in love with the community.
“We love the quietness, the safety of Door County compared to living in a city… we love our sense of community up here… we all look out for each other,” Orozco said.
She said both she and Ornelas stay active in the community, volunteering whenever they can – even serving two years on the Sister Bay village board.
Every once in a while, Orozco said Happy Coffee customers might even see their 11-year-old daughter hanging out around the shop.
“She loves it…,” she said. “It’s really nice having her in here knowing that one day, when she’s actually old enough, it will just come naturally for her.”
