MILWAUKEE — A lot is brewing at Fiddleheads Cafe in Thiensville.
For many a cup of coffee is like a morning hug. Fiddleheads serves steaming cups of java with beans roasted in-house.
"I think everyone feels important here, and they are," says manager Camryn Weigand. "We want to make people feel better with coffee and personality. I think that's the reason everyone feels good here."
Ray Marcy is co-owner of the seven Fiddleheads cafes. He says last year they served 750,000 customers.
Each location is steeped in community. To honor its 25th anniversary, Fiddleheads hosted "Baristas Sees," and commissioned the work of local artists.
"We chose 25 artists to do 25 pieces in honor of our 25th anniversary," Marcy explains.
Those selected got $500 and a chance to host their own art show in a Fiddleheads Cafe.
"We wanted our artists to be creative about how our baristas see their world," Marcy says.
"I think it's super unique," Weigand adds. "I love that Ray kind of takes his time to kind of invest in the local art world. I personally find it really inspiring."
Fiddleheads was the brainchild of Ray Marcy's daughter Lynn Wroblewski.
"The notion that everything would be premium and we're going to cater to unique customers who want to fall in love with a local business, that was true 25 years ago, and it's true today," Marcy says. "She used to say it all the time, 'I just want everyone who comes in to feel at least one percent better leaving than when they arrived.'"
But sadly, Lynn did not live long enough to see her business expand. She died of breast cancer at the age of 38.
"She found out when she was pregnant that she had triple-negative breast cancer. She was six months pregnant, was just about to tell all of our customers the celebration was fully on. She said 'I feel a lump and I don't know what it is,'" Marcy recalls. "It's a family business. I don't ever walk in the door here without saying good morning or hello to Lynn."
"I have to say the first six months after she passed, I describe it as my life went from full color to black and white," Marcy continues.
So, he works to keep his daughter's dream alive. He has a sculpture in the backyard that symbolizes gratitude. And from his journey come important lessons: fellowship matters, legacy lives on even in loss, and lessons can be learned.
"I've learned that life is a river, that we do go on and this legacy is part of Lynn's spirit today, no doubt about that," Marcy says.
