Owners Dawn Heigele and Phillip Benningfield have over 40 years of combined experience in the service industry. Dawn has a Bachelor of Science in Restaurant Administration from Missouri State University. She gained management experience working in corporate and locally owned restaurants. Phillip has been in a relationship with making coffee for over 15 years. His passion for coffee inspired him to write a book about the coffee culture called The Dark Roast. Phillip has been voted Salida's Best Barista.