Shawano coffeehouse changes hands with former employee becoming owner
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February 17, 2025
RICE LAKE – After the Mommsen family decided it was time to pass the torch of their business to another family, Jackie Dibble and her fiancé, Mike Lucas, said they knew it was their chance to own a long-standing favorite in the Rice Lake area and make it their own.
The couple said they bought the former Mommsen’s Harvest Hills at the beginning of the year and rebranded it to Midwest Harvest Hills.
“For about 40 years, the Mommsen family had a presence in this area with their pumpkin patch and apple orchard,” Dibble said. “Last fall, it was posted on social media that they weren’t going to be open. When we saw that, Mike and I were kind of shocked like everybody else was.”
That’s when Dibble said she and Lucas reached out to the Mommsens.
“We thought it would be cool to own it,” she said. “I reached out and said, ‘If you’re going to be selling, we would love to carry on the tradition and are interested in learning more about it.’ They told us they’d let us. I’m not even sure how many people looked at it, but it sounds like there were quite a few.”
The rest, Dibble said, “is history.”
Because they took over during the offseason, she said they’ve been able to slowly ease into being new business owners.
“We’re just trying to get our feet under us,” she said. “Both of us still work full-time jobs, but we’re hoping to do (Harvest Hills) full-time at some point. We’re really excited to give back to the community and make it a fun place for everybody to come.”
Dibble, who grew up in Turtle Lake, and Lucas, who was born in Glidden but has spent about 30 years in the Rice Lake/Cameron area, said they make a good pair for their new-found adventure.
“Mike is a farmer through and through and loves farming, so that’s his side of the business – the farming, the crops and the petting zoo,” she said. “I love event planning and crafting, so I deal with the gift shop and the kids’ stuff. I think it’s perfect for us – a business that pairs all of our loves together.”
Other offerings
Besides being a pumpkin patch and apple orchard – which operates during September and October – on the 37-acre property, located at 1696 20 ½ St., Dibble said she and Lucas want Harvest Hills to be known as a go-to event venue for weddings, corporate events, parties and other gatherings.
She said the space hasn’t been used much during the last few years.
“We’re empty nesters, so we’re excited to take on the more time-consuming things again,” she said. “We really want to try and open it up for weddings again. I think people in the area are excited about that – it’s needed. (The barn and pavilion) is a beautiful location, and there are possibilities to have weddings right out in the orchard.”
For now, Dibble said the event venue for weddings – and other events – will be mostly limited to the warmer months.
“We currently don’t have heating out there,” she said. “That’s in the plans for the future – not immediately, but as soon as we can work it in.”
According to the Harvest Hills website (ricelakepumpkinpatch.com), the property can accommodate weddings of up to 250 guests, and there are several site options available, including the apple orchard and forest amphitheater.
The pavilion has a vaulted ceiling and sliding doors, allowing for additional indoor space should the weather be undesirable on the day of an event.
Dibble said Harvest Hills also recently booked its first graduation party.
Though its busy season is May through fall, she said they are also looking at adding more events throughout the year.
Additionally, Dibble said Harvest Hills offers educational tours for school groups.
“A lot of schools come through in the fall,” she said. “It’s about an hour-and-a-half tour where kids do a hayride, go through the petting zoo, learn about pumpkins, get some apple cider, a small pumpkin and a coloring book.”
According to the website, students will learn about photosynthesis, pollination, the pumpkin growing process, the harvest of fall produce and the care and feeding of domestic and exotic animals.
Dibble said there’s also the ever-popular petting zoo.
“(It has) a variety of different animals – usually from local farms we work with to have the animals come here during the season, and then they go back to their home after the season,” she said.
There is no general admission fee to enter, rather, admission, according to the website, is charged for each individual activity.
Harvest Hills also has several special events throughout the season free of charge.
Status quo – for now
Since they are taking over an established business, Dibble said she and Lucas want to be cognizant about not doing/changing anything too quickly.
“Harvest Hills has been around for a long time – it’s established,” she said. “Besides wanting to do more weddings and other events, for now, we really just want to make sure we keep the tradition alive. It has grown into something special, and everybody loves the joy it has brought them. We just want to expand on it and make it more year-round because we see a lot of opportunities for that.”
Dibble said the Mommsen family did a great job of adding something new yearly.
“It just kept growing, and I think there’s a lot of opportunity for that,” she said. “There are lots of things we see that we could do – adding a bathroom facility is one. Right now, it’s porta potties.”
