Patrick Dugan’s Coffee House has been a staple of the downtown area for well over a decade now. The coffee house has been owned and operated by Pat and Doug since they opened all the way back in 2008. But after nearly eighteen years, the pair have decided it’s time to move on.
“We’re both at retirement age and just decided we were ready,” Patrick Howard, co-owner of Patrick Dugan’s, said.
The coffee house is currently for sale and a new owner has not yet been selected.
“Its not something we take lightly,” Howard said, “We want to make sure whoever gets it continues what we’re doing here.”
The current goal is to sell the coffee house without any real changes coming to the operation of the business.
“There’s no plan to change anything right now,” Tonika Guerrero, manager of Patrick Dugan’s, said, “Any big changes will affect all of downtown.”
Despite this goal of changing as little as possible, the shop has undergone one big change. The coffee house has hired a new manager, Tonika Guerrero.
“Our previous manager had been working here for a long time,” Howard said, “But she developed other interests and when we announced we were going to be selling the shop, she felt the timing was right.”
Despite this big change, Howard is very confident that the shop will still perform to standards.
“I have complete faith in Tonika,” Howard said.
The shop has been running smoothly since Guerrero was hired. During the Christmas Parade on Main Street, Patrick Dugan’s is open and sells hot chocolate. This is often the biggest day of their year. Not only did it run smoothly again this year, the shop actually sold out of hot chocolate.
“It was super good,” Trell Baker, Public Service senior, said, “I don’t normally go to Patrick Dugan’s so I was a little skeptical but I was pleasantly surprised.”
The demand for a coffee house is still present every day, finding new customers even after nearly eighteen years. There is no rush for anything to change either.
“I’m not anxious to find a new owner,” Howard said, “I’m happy still running things until we find someone to buy the shop.”
The shop continues to thrive even as an eighteen year long journey winds to a close.
“I think my favorite part over the years was meeting all the people,” Howard said, “The coffee too of course.”
