Cabin Coffee sold to restaurant’s manager | News, Sports, Jobs

Jasmin Sahr, left, is the new owner of the Cabin Coffee restaurant in Blue Earth, as of March 1. She has been the manager since it opened.

Blue Earth’s branch of Cabin Coffee has been keeping area residents happy and caffeinated since March of 2021.

One year later, John Huisman, current owner of the business, is excited to announce its pending sale to current manager Jasmin Sahr.

“My intention was never to run the business long-term, but rather to bring an established business to Blue Earth,” Huisman explains.

Following the signing of a final agreement at the end of the month, Sahr will officially become owner/operator of the business on March 1.

Sahr has created an LLC through which she will own and operate Blue Earth’s Cabin Coffee branch: Brighter Days Cafe, LLC.

Though Blue Earth’s Cabin Coffee location will be under the ownership of Brighter Days Cafe, LLC, the business will remain a part of the Cabin Coffee franchise.

Sahr explains her company’s name was partially inspired by her experiences during the early days of COVID.

“I was a director for adult day services at St. Luke’s before COVID restrictions came,” Sahr shares.

“It was very relational,” Sahr says of the position, which facilitated opportunities for residents to experience socialization through specially arranged activities and programs.

“Physical touch was a very big part of our programming,” she adds.

Unfortunately, this meant the services were rendered nearly impossible to provide following the pandemic.

“When COVID hit, it was clear things would never be the same,” Sahr recalls. She found herself in search of a new position of employment.

It was also during this time that Sahr found herself referencing ‘brighter days’ ahead quite often. Her hopes literally came true, and, two years later, the phrase has become the title of her very own company.

Sahr’s entrance into the world of coffee shop management was nearly as unexpected to her as the pandemic itself.

Sahr recalls she received an unexpected phone call during which she was offered a position as Cabin Coffee’s manager.

“It (the job) literally fell into my lap,” she says.

This was around June or July of 2020.

Since then, Sahr has not regretted her decision to jump on board with the business.

“I fell in love it. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” Sahr says.

She adds her favorite part about her job is the interactions it affords with the community, from her team members to her customers.

“It’s a wonderful social outlet,” Sahr explains. “It’s so fun to see different people come in.” 

She says travelers along I-90 are common, and she will often meet out-of-towners who pull into Cabin Coffee for some refreshment before heading on their way.

“(I-90) is a vast land of nothingness, then coffee,” she laughs.

She also enjoys her interactions with Blue Earth locals, however.

“There’s a sense of community,” Sahr says. “There are people coming together and talking.” 

The community, of course, includes Cabin Coffee’s staff.

“It’s fun to be a part of a team of baristas,” Sahr shares. “Half of them are high schoolers, and it’s a fun age group. We’re a great team.” 

Sahr says she does not plan to make too many changes after taking ownership of the business.

“It will remain mostly the same,” Sahr says.

She does hint at a few exciting things locals can look forward to, however.

“We will be introducing Nitro in March,” Sahr shares.

Nitro cold brew, a cold brew coffee drink infused with nitrogen gas, has become popular amongst coffee enthusiasts recently.

Sahr endorses the drink herself, saying that a Nitro cold brew, along with a hot Bellringer, is one of her favorite Cabin Coffee drinks.

Sahr says some new early bird specials will be added to the menu, as well as some after-school specials for students.

Sahr also announces Blue Earth’s Cabin Coffee will host an open house on March 12 which will be held from 9-11 a.m.

For now, Sahr plans to keep the business’s hours the same. Cabin Coffee is currently open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday.

“It is too soon to figure out hours and days,” Sahr explains, adding she would like to hear community feedback to determine what schedule would best fit the community’s needs.

No matter the schedule which Sahr ends up with, she will be kept very busy over the next few months.

Apart from taking ownership of her own business, Sahr is also a mother of three, soon to be five, children.

Sahr and her husband, Brandon, currently have three children: 13-year-old Ariel, 12-year-old Sawyer and nine-year-old Lucy.

They are expecting two more children in the coming months, one of whom is a three-year-old they are adopting from Liberia.

Sahr is looking forward to melding business and family in the future.

“This is very much a family business,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity for the kids to grow up learning the responsibility of running a business.”