Spotlights

Lance and Tamara Lovewell – Ruska Coffee Co

Caribou,  Maine

We moved to northern Maine in the summer of 2021, hailing from the West Coast. We moved here on a whim, having never been to Maine and knowing no-one from here. We had just always believed we’d wind up here. Shortly after we arrived we were in search of local coffee shops to patronize, and were surprised to hear that there were only fast food establishments serving coffee drinks. 

Hearing that there was an influx of new residents moving to the County from all over the U.S. I (Tamara) told my husband that we needed to open a coffee shop. I knew with the many new residents, I would not be the only one with that idea. 

Prior to heading to the East Coast, we had purchased a home in Caribou, sight-unseen. The home was in need of a total renovation (immediately upon arrival in Maine, we were knee deep in those renovations). My husband agreed that maybe the following year we could look into starting a coffee shop.  

 Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, I insisted that the timing was of the essence I wanted to begin the work of putting together a shop immediately. My husband relented, and thus we immediately got to creating what would become, Ruska Coffee Co.

Starting our business was fun, challenging, and scary. We spent months talking to locals and doing as much research as possible. We knew one thing for certain – location was very important. We decided staying downtown, on or near Sweden St. was our ideal location. We eventually landed on a building in our desired area. The building had never been used in a food or beverage industry and thus required a substantial amount of renovations. We did not have a lot of excess funds to create our shop but put in tireless hours of sweat equity and purchased some used equipment. We also obtained a small amount of additional startup funding through NMDC.

Covid was ever present during the beginning months of our building and development. It had changed the world in so many ways. As we created our business, we set forward to reunite people. A comfortable and welcoming environment was key. We strove to get back to a world of customer service and human interaction. We were also very particular about our beverage choices, and later as we added our kitchen, our food choices. Our goal was creating a place that we ourselves would want to patronize.

We endured an extreme hardship as our oldest son was killed prior to our intended opening. The emotional turmoil caused an unexpected pause on the forward movement of our business. After many months had passed we realized that financially, we were at a turning point – we needed to open our doors. Ready of not we were jumping in. 

Although we did not have all of the pieces perfectly together, the community showed up big and has kept showing up ever since!

We have been awe-inspired at the amazing support we have received from the locals and those from neighboring areas as well. In spite of some locals initial concerns about a coffee shop being a viable business, we have managed to not only exist, but thrive in our small town. 

In many areas of the U.S., newcomers might not be welcomed or well received Aroostook County is like no other! The people in the County are some of the friendliest, most genuine, and most welcoming people we’ve met. We’re now 4 years in, and we’d take these extra long winters any day to live in this community that offers as much love as we’ve experienced here.