Next Stop's Java Jolt, Sweet Treats Making More Glen Ellyn Commuters Happy

Glen Ellyn commuters are jazzed about their java and Next Stop Coffee Shop is seeing the results.

Since opening in July, the number of cups of coffee Next Stop is selling has doubled, according to the owner Craig Yerly. But, not only are commuters happily caffeinated, they are enjoying sweets too.

Yerly and his wife, Joy, purchased the coffee shop, located inside Glen Ellyn's Metra station, from longtime owner Dotty Flicek earlier this year.

When Next Stop first started selling coffee at the Metra station in downtown Glen Ellyn, customers purchased about 50 cups a day, Yerly said. Now, that number is at the century mark.

What’s behind the increase in coffee sales? Customer service, marketing and coffee quality, Yerly said.

The stand offers commuters Metropolis Coffee, a small-batch artisan coffee company from Chicago, he said.

“We attribute the doubling of sales to word-of-mouth, guerrilla marketing efforts, cross promotion (both Honey and Serene Teaz are promoting us in their shops because we are selling their goods), being local and independent and living out our secret motto which is: treat train travellers terrifically,” Yerly said. “Our not so secret motto that we loudly publicize and the commuters say they appreciate is: Next Stop Coffee Shop commuters are: well caffeinated, well Informed. We daily serve up fresh coffee with the day's temperature, precipitation, Dow S&P, and sport scores.” 

In addition, the coffee shop’s pastry sales are sweetening the deal for commuters. Next Stop’s pastry sales are increasing week over week and Yerly is running out of room to store the fresh pastries, which Honey Café supplies. What kinds of sweets do they sell: blueberry muffins, pumpkin muffins – seasonally, maple oat scones, lemon raspberry and almond cherry scones, granola bars loaded with fruits and nuts, and chocolate chip cookies.

“We are selling so many pastries; increasing from one week to the next, that I'm running out of space to store our fresh pastries and may have to increase to two display units,” he said.

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