Shawano coffeehouse changes hands with former employee becoming owner

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

February 24, 2025

SHAWANO – A new chapter has begun in the life of a popular coffeehouse that has been in downtown Shawano for years. 

Located at 215 N. Main St., Unit B, the former Beans & Books Espresso is now known as The Daily Drip Coffeehouse.

Chloe Genske, now 19, said she bought and took over the business last July when she was just 18 years old, after working at the coffeehouse for two-and-a-half years.

Genske said the coffeehouse was previously owned by Karen Benishek and her husband, Jim. 

When Benishek decided to retire, Genske said the couple offered her the opportunity to purchase not only the downtown location, but a second location they had on East Green Bay Street, also in Shawano.

“I just really love the craft coffee industry and being able to connect with people every day,” Genske said. “Throughout my time working at the coffeehouse, I would periodically tell Karen that if she ever decided to retire or sell the business for some other reason, I’d love to run it.”

Genske said that planted the seed, and her dream became a reality not long after.

“When the opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no,” she said. “I was so excited. Even though they offered me the chance to buy both locations, I decided to just buy the one downtown, because I really like Main Street and the whole atmosphere down here,” she said. “Someone else bought the other location.”

Off to the races

Describing herself as a quick study, Genske said she began doing her due diligence and coming up with a new name for the coffeehouse.

She said she decided to change the name to eliminate confusion with the other coffeehouse that was still being operated by her former boss, but also to give it its own identity. 

“I wanted something really catchy, and I (played around with a lot of different names),” she said. “It took me quite a while, like a couple of months, but when I found this one, it just felt right. That got the ball rolling for everything else.”  

With The Daily Drip Coffeehouse now official, Genske said she began getting the other legal paperwork taken care of, social media accounts and a website created, employees hired, suppliers lined up and everything else that needed to be handled in time for a July 1, 2024 opening.  

Most things, she said, went very smoothly during the transfer of business, with the single exception of the point-of-sale system being down for one day. 

“Everything else went really well,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Genske said what has helped make everything so seamless is the fact that two of her five employees had worked for the business under the previous owners – one at the downtown location, the other at its secondary location.

Though she wasn’t sure how it would be having people working for her when she’s so young, and had been a co-worker of one of them, she said she feels very fortunate about how things have gone so far.

“I’ve really lucked out in the employee area because they’re all so great,” she said. “They all respect me, but that’s because I respect them, too.”

Genske said perhaps the biggest similarity is that so many customers she served as an employee under the previous ownership remain today.

And with it being located downtown in a high-traffic area, Genske said new customers are discovering The Daily Drip all the time.

Making it her own

Genske said some menu items have changed in recent months, including the addition of two new drinks – an Infusion, which is a Red Bull drink with different flavor combos added to it; and a cortado, which contains two shots of espresso with equal parts of steamed milk. 

“We also have a ‘Latte of the Day’ menu, which has a ton of flavor combos that people can choose from – they’re all pretty popular,” she said. “And every month, I put out a new specials menu of combos or different drinks that my team and I have curated. Those are always super popular, as well. The monthly specials menus are usually themed. For February the theme is ‘Love at First Drip.’ We have lots of fun coming up with those drinks.” 

Of course, Genske said the coffeehouse offers a wide variety of beverages, including coffee, café au lait, lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, breves, frappes, a cold brew, espresso shots, chai lattes, hot chocolate, vanilla steamers, teas, apple cider, matchas, smoothies, lemonade, Italian soda and Lotus Energy drinks.

The Daily Drip, Genske said, also offers bakery items, which are made by Molly’s Meadow Homestead Market. 

“She is a sourdough baker and has all sorts of bagels, scones, cookies and different treats that she brings in,” she said.

Genske said she is always happy to partner with other local businesses who do pop-up events at her store.

“For example, we recently had a local florist come in, and they did a little program for kids where they could make little bouquets for their moms for Valentine’s Day,” she said. 

One event that took place at the coffeehouse when it was Beans & Books Espresso, that Genske said has continued, is hosting a monthly Silent Book Club®.

During Silent Book Club gatherings, she said there’s no assigned reading, but members gather to read whatever they want to in silent camaraderie.

Genske said the group meets from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, unless it falls on a holiday or there’s severe weather, etc.

Slowly but surely, Genske said she has changed the interior of the coffeehouse, bringing in different seating and decor.

She said she wants to eventually have murals painted on the walls to bring in some vibrant color to the interior space. 

“There’s nothing wrong with how it looked or was done before,” she said. “I just want to make it a little more personalized. I think every person who owns a business wants to bring something of their own to the table. Everyone has their own personality to add to it, as well.”

Genske said The Daily Drip can accommodate 20-24 people inside and there is very limited outdoor seating directly in front of the store – something she would like to see grow in the near future.

The shop, she said, also has a meeting room that seats 12-15, and customers of the business can use the meeting room free of charge.

Genske said customers can order online, whether to carry-out or enjoy at the coffeehouse.

“I love when I have a full house, and I can hear all the chitter-chatter and the typing on the keyboards,” she said. “It’s great.”

Looking to the future

Genske said she never imagined that she’d own her own business at just 19 years old, even though she ran her own photography business from the time she was 13.

“I knew from a young age that I would own some form of a business someday,” she said. “I just thought it would look a little different. But when this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no. I just really wanted to do it.”

Being homeschooled, Genske said, allowed her to have opportunities and experience things others her age who attended mainstream school may not have had.

“I had the opportunity to be in the real world and see businesses and how they operated,” she said, adding that that knowledge has helped her become an entrepreneur at a young age. 

Genske said some of her plans for the future of The Daily Drip are clear-cut, while others aren’t nearly as defined.   

“I want to see it grow,” she said. “I don’t really know what that looks like, if that means a second location or a mobile version, or something else. But I want to see it grow somehow and maybe someday even going beyond Shawano. What I do know, and what I would just hope, is that when people come in they always feel welcomed – that they’re well taken care of and that their money is being well spent.”

Genske said she’d “like to duplicate myself times four,” because there’s always a lot to do and never seems to be enough hours in the day. 

In the meantime, she said she and her staff will keep giving their all to grow the business and take excellent care of customers. 

The Daily Drip Coffeehouse hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information, visit the coffeehouse on social media.