Nearly 50 years ago, a few part-time employees at a bike shop decided to turn a small corner of the shop into a side hustle, buying and selling bags of coffee to curious customers who were interested in a great cup of joe. As this side hustle grew, so did its name, notoriously known as The Mill Coffee & Tea.

“They (the bike shop employees) bought coffee, they sold coffee, they didn’t even serve coffee,” Mr. Sloan said. “I mean, they had a home coffee maker in the back that they would make coffee in.”

As consumers caught wind of the gourmet coffee for sale, the company grew, and so did its products. Though, despite the growth, something was still missing.

“They morphed from that to a place where we roasted coffee, but again, we didn’t have espresso, we didn’t have a place to sit,” owner Mr. Sloan said.

Needing a place to set up permanent production, the same bike shop employees decided to open a store in an area that dates back to the start of Lincoln: the Historic Haymarket.

“When we moved down here, that was when we became what people think of us, The Mill,” Mr. Sloan said. “We put in tables, we put in espresso machines, we put in real brewers, and rather than using the brewed coffee to simply try and sell the beans, we made that its own thing.”

Joining in 2012, Tamara Sloan, wife of Dan Sloan, became a co-owner of The Mill. With her creative talent and the help of an amazing staff, she lifted the coffee shop to where it is today.

“The coffee bean sales have always been really solid, but the other side of it has grown and one of the things that Tamara really brought into the equation was kind of the experience,” Mr. Sloan said. “It’s not just walk in, order your coffee, go stand down there, somebody will yell something that might sound like your name, and you get your coffee and get out.”

Instead, The Mill offers something much better than to-go coffee; it is a place where relationships are kindled, dreams are grasped, and memories are curated. It is a place of warmth and positivity.

“We’ve always been the kind of place to hangout and she really elevated that ambiance to where people in Omaha take and post pictures in our bathroom–because they’re elevated,” Mr. Sloan said. “It’s a place you bring your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your mother. It’s a place that people really want to be.”

And to complete the experience, The Mill hires kind and genuine people to be the face of the interactions, the baristas who leave customers wanting to come back.

“In general, I think, the thing that brings us the most joy are the employees. I mean, having great staff that we can be so proud of,” Mrs. Sloan said. “You know, seeing where they go next, whether they’re with us for a temporary period of time, or where they go within us is super cool.”

Long-term barista of five years Benjamin Vidlak agrees with Mr. and Mrs. Sloan, finding the staff the heart of the company.

“We all get along very well, for the most part, and we’re just kind of buddies,” Vidlak said. “Since I’ve worked here, I’ve seen different waves of buddies kind of come together and split apart when they’ve moved on and gone to other places. And every single one of those groups of folk have been very kind and very fun. So the dynamic is pretty jovial.”

“Over the years, we’ve kind of morphed from that original coffee store, where you bought great coffee to take home to roast and brew, to a roastery, and then the café side of things,” owner Mr. Sloan said. “So, it’s been feeling more evolutionary; we always say we’re more evolutionary than revolutionary. We are continually changing and continually adapting based on what talents we have, what assets we have, but more importantly, what the customer really wants.”

From nothing to everything, bike shop to coffeehouse, idea to local favorite, The Mill Coffee & Tea has left an everlasting impact on the heart and soul of the Lincoln community.