Last-minute sale saves popular Edwardsville coffee shop from closing
Customers who were heartbroken by news that Sacred Grounds Cafe in Edwardsville would close at the end of the year now have something to celebrate.
A last-minute sale has resulted in plans for the popular coffee shop and restaurant to reopen on Feb. 1.
“I’m so honored to carry on the legacy of Sacred Grounds,” said incoming owner Kate Baumgartner, who expects to close the deal in mid-January. “It’s my dream. It’s actualizing, and it’s so cool. It’s so great. I’m beyond words.”
Coincidentally, Baumgartner is 30 years old, exactly the same age that current owner Jenn Courtney was when she opened the business in 1999.
Courtney, 51, had been considering retirement when the coronavirus pandemic hit. In announcing plans to close on Thursday, she explained that “COVID fatigue” and related challenges for restaurants had helped her finalize the decision.
“I’m looking forward to lounging around the house in the morning,” she said Wednesday.
Courtney tried to take Sundays off, but she often got up at 3:45 a.m. Monday through Saturday to be at work by 4:30 a.m. She wanted to have fresh muffins, scones, brownies and other baked goods in the case when the doors opened.
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Courtney plans to spend more time taking care of the many animals on her rural Edwardsville property and learn how to make pottery.
“I’m still feeling excited and relieved,” she said. “There’s some sadness, too, but I’m not moving away. I’m still going to be in Edwardsville. I’ll still be around.”
About 30 customers showed up in the parking lot behind Sacred Grounds on Wednesday morning to say goodbye, despite steady rain. They held umbrellas, wore masks and stood six feet apart for a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.”
Baumgartner is a Caseyville native who attended Collinsville High School and graduated from Highland High School. She moved to Edwardsville to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature.
“I probably wrote 75% of my college papers at Sacred Grounds,” she said. “I was there all the time.”
After graduation, Baumgartner managed social media for a law firm, earned an associate’s degree in software development at Southwestern Illinois College and landed an IT recruitment job with Hortica, an Edwardsville-based brand of Sentry Insurance.
Baumgartner eventually relocated with the company to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She wasn’t happy.
“I have always, always, always wanted to work in the food-service business,” she said, noting she grew up in a “foodie” family. “But as someone who came of age during the recession, I didn’t know how it was going to be possible.
“So I worked in the corporate world for about eight years, and I kind of lacked that labor-of-love feeling.”
Baumgartner seriously looked into buying a food truck last spring, but as the pandemic wore on, the idea seemed risky. Then she heard Sacred Grounds was closing.
Courtney has agreed to share her recipes for baked goods and other business tips with Baumgartner to help her get started.
“I hope people will continue to support and love Sacred, and I think they will,” Courtney said. “(Baumgartner’s) been in Edwardsville a long time. She has a lot of support, and I think she’s going to give it some new energy, some good energy.
“I think it’s going to thrive under her guidance.”
Baumgartner will rent a place in Edwardsville while her husband, Cory Lindow, who works in the home-improvement business, prepares their Wisconsin home to be sold.
Baumgartner plans to operate Sacred Grounds from 7 a.m. to 5:30 or 6 p.m. daily and continue to serve coffee, tea, espresso, lattes, baked goods and breakfasts, as well as paninis, other lunches, soups and salads on a rotating basis.
“It’s working really well,” she said. “I don’t see any reason to change anything. If I do change something, it will be very small and incremental changes as time goes by.”
Sacred Grounds occupies a historic storefront in downtown Edwardsville with exposed brick walls, tall ceilings and hardwood floors. It’s known as a community gathering spot with a diverse crowd and laid-back atmosphere.
Many residents give Courtney credit for kicking off a revitalization on the north end of Main Street, which had deteriorated by the late 1990s.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
