Twin Peaks Fundraiser, July 29, 2010
If you're interested in hosting an event at Central Park Coffee, give us a call at 507-451-4242.
Coffee Break for a Cure Event, August 6, 2009
People were gracious in fund-raiser
This remarkable community has responded in ways that leave me speechless. I have simply run out of ways to say thank you, so all I can do is say “Thank you for helping me to attain my goal.” I can’t show enough gratitude to Central Park Coffee Company, and specifically Sue Pap, her business partner Pete, and her hard-working employees, to thank them for the incredible fund-raising event of Aug. 6. The coffee drinks and the food were fabulous. And to all of you who attended, and those who couldn’t who bought a ticket or sent a donation anyway, my heart is full of thankfulness for each and every one of you.
I also would like to thank all of the downtown merchants who pitched in their help and support, as well as Tri M Graphics, and the Owatonna People’s Press. And thank you to Matt Paley and Jessica Dant for their outstanding entertainment. Your generosity is overwhelming. I also thank my family and friends who have encouraged me every step of the way, and without whom none of this would be possible. I will carry each and every one of you with me as I walk the 60 miles on Aug. 21, 22, and 23. And I do it for all of us who have battled or are battling breast cancer, for there are far too many. All of the contributions I have received are in the name of all the “girls,” to eradicate breast cancer forever.
With love and a grateful heart…
Norma Louis
Owatonna
Owatonna woman walks against breast cancer
OWATONNA — 2008 was a big year for Norma Louis.
She not only decided to close her store in downtown Owatonna — Banbury Cross — but she also decided she would use the extra time to take on the task of walking 60 miles in the Breast Cancer Three-Day in the Twin Cities.
In February 2008, however, Louis hit an obstacle. She went in for a routine check-up, just as she began preparing for the three-day walk.
“I got a call the next day and I was told I had a suspicious mammogram.” said Louis. “I saw the surgeon three days later. It was breast cancer.”
The unexpected diagnosis stopped Louis in her tracks. She withdrew from the three-day walk, and in the place of physical training, she spent six weeks in radiation therapy and endured two surgeries.
“In April, they told me it was in remission,” said Louis. “I immediately went home and registered.”
Louis said she is lucky, in that her doctors caught the cancer early. And now that she is a cancer survivor, there is nothing that can stop her from working to further the search for the cure. She credits medical professionals and cancer research for her successful treatment, and advises every woman to take precautions so they can catch breast cancer at its onset.
“I cannot emphasize how important it is to get those mammograms,” said Louis. “It can literally save your life as it did mine.”
Now, Louis has set out on her physical training and preparations for the event, which will have her walking about 20 miles each day through the Twin Cities, beside thousands of others, and making camp with the three-day community at night.
“The big thing with the training is making sure your stamina is up,” said Louis.
In order to participate in the walk, which will kick off on Friday, Aug. 21, at Southdale Mall in Edina, Louis also has to raise at least $2,300 in donations for the search for a cure. She said already she has seen businesses come forward with donations, as well as other people in the community.
“I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of so many,” said Louis.
In order to help her meet her goal, Louis is also coordinating a couple of fundraising events over the next few weeks. On Friday and Saturday, Louis will hold a garage sale at her home at 1510 Deer Trail Lane, which is open to the public. She is also working with Sue Pap, the owner of Central Park Coffee, to pull off a larger fundraiser next week.
“Wine and beer tastings don’t fit everyone,” said Pap.
Instead, Central Park Coffee will host a Coffee Break for a Cure, which will invite the public to sample different products offered at the cafe. Coffee Break for a Cure will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 6, and it will offer guests samples of everything from the coffees and lattes to teas, chai and smoothies.
“It’s for a very good cause and it’s a good event,” said Pap.
The event will feature a silent auction and door prizes, as well as live entertainment. “We’re going to have a young man who plays keyboard and guitar,” said Louis. “All of the proceeds go toward the Susan G. Komen For the Cure and also the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. All the money goes toward awareness, education, research and the fight for the cure.”
Tickets for Coffee Break for a Cure are $10, and they are available at the coffee shop or at the door on Aug. 6.
- Story by MELISSA KAELIN, Owatonna People's Press
Not your average ciabatta
Friday, February 20, 2009
Mona Moore rustled up a cashew-chicken sandwich in the kitchen at Central Park Coffee on Thursday, but she didn’t put it on any ordinary ciabatta — or even on a standard slice of whole wheat.
She put the chicken mixture between two pieces of gluten-free bread, made from brown rice rather than wheat.
The gluten-free diet is the latest to sweep the nation. But unlike the Atkins regimen or the South Beach Diet, the goal is not to lose weight but to control the symptoms of a serious illness called celiac disease.
So what is gluten anyway?
“Gluten is a protein component found in grains. It adds a stickiness, it holds them together,” said Jennifer Nelson, a registered dietitian at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley and oats to some extent.
Sounds innocuous, but for some people gluten is a matter of life and death.
“Individuals may have a sensitivity to it to various degrees or an out-and-out intolerance of it,” Nelson said. “The most pronounced condition is celiac disease and the specific protein component of gluten called gliadin.”
When a person with celiac disease ingests gliadin, it starts a reaction in their intestine that causes the villi, which absorb nutrients, to atrophy and die.
"If you think of the inside of your intestine as a carpet, those are the villi," Nelson said. "When they go away the intestine becomes like a linoleum floor and very little can be absorbed."
Symptoms vary widely. A person who can’t tolerate gluten may feel something like heartburn, gas and bloating after they eat gluten-laced foods. They may have diarrhea or they could become constipated. In more serious stages of celiac disease, the patient will become malnourished as their intestinal carpet thins out and they may lose a lot of weight.
If untreated, celiac disease can be deadly.
To diagnose celiac disease, there are some blood tests, Nelson said, but the "gold standard" is a small intestine biopsy.
Once diagnosed, a gluten-free diet is the only treatment.
“They need to avoid all wheat, rye and barley. The jury is still out on oats,” Nelson said. “It’s a very serious disease. You need to be aware every time you put something in your mouth.”
Following a gluten-free regimen is easier said than done.
“You think of bread, pasta and cereal, but when you dig down a significant number of foods have components of wheat, rye or barley as thickeners, stabilizers or additives,” Nelson said.
Rooting out microscopic particles is difficult, but it’s not impossible. In the last five or 10 years, food makers have been more diligent about noting the presence of gluten on labels.
And now restaurants are getting on board, though finding a gluten-free meal is still no cake walk.
“Eating out is a major challenge to people with celiac disease,” Nelson said. “You never really know what ingredients are used in the kitchen. At a diner, for instance, you can ask for no toast but you don’t know if the hash browns have a flour in them and the eggs could be fried on a griddle that had a pancake on it.”
For this reason, implementing a gluten-free menu at Central Park Coffee took months of painstaking research, said owner Sue Pap. To help, Pap enlisted Candy Dombrock, a registered nurse at the Owatonna Clinic and a baker who specializes in gluten-free muffins and breads.
“We found out that our chicken breasts have a minute amount of wheat in them to tenderize the meat,” Pap said.
Together they took a gluten inventory of every ingredient the cafe uses. The cafe also bought another grill for the gluten-free offerings, because even trace amounts of gluten on a cooking utensil or cooking surface can make a person with celiac disease sick.
Pap said she was partly motivated by her own interest in health and partly motivated by the state of the economy, which prompted her to look for a new niche to fill. Of the restaurants in Owatonna, few regularly offer gluten-free options, though many will bust out their ingredient list to find foods that lack gluten. Timberlodge has a gluten-free menu, and Godfather’s Pizza is developing one but it will only be available in Rochester outlets for the short-term.
“There is a need out there,” Pap said. “And this is one niche that hasn’t been met.”
-Story by
Steaming hot scarecrow
Monday, October 20, 2008
Silvan Durben hands Central Park Coffee employees Mona Moore and Amy Rieck the prize: $50 in Owatonna Business Partnership bucks. Central Park Coffee won the 2008 Business Owners Scarecrow Contest with their inventive scarecrow, which featured a steaming coffee cup head. The competition was stiff this year, said Durban, who judged the event. There were 10 contestants, double that of last year, said Harvest Fest Committee Co-Chair Laura Resler.
-Story by CLARE KENNEDY, Owatonna People's Press
Pap finds new adventure in coffee
Friday, December 22, 2006
At the beginning of December Sue Pap was merely a coffee drinker. Now she's a bona fide barista.
Pap bought Central Park Coffee on Nov. 30 from John and Diane Raymond. John Raymond has been teaching her the coffee business since then.
"This is all new to me," Pap said.
Pap will be the manager of the coffee shop, but Raymond will continue to work mornings at the downtown coffee shop. She owns the four Subway restaurants in Owatonna along with Peter Haukoos. Pap is the general manager of the sandwich shops. The newest Subway opened recently at Three Corners near Cabela's.
Haukoos was originally just looking to buy the building that Central Park Coffee when Raymond asked him if he and Pap wanted to buy the business. Pap ended up purchasing Central Park Coffee and Haukoos bought the building.
According to Pap, Raymond and his wife started the coffee shop as a retirement hobby, but it turned out to be more work than they expected. The Raymonds opened the coffee shop about three years ago.
"The location is great and it has a lot of potential," Pap said.
She plans to change several things at the shop, but the name will stay the same.
In January, Pap plans to sell more food and extend the shop's hours. There is a small kitchen in the back of the shop where workers will make quiches, pastries and desserts. Central Park Coffee used to sell food around lunch, but Pap intends to serve food all day.
With the extended hours Pap said she will probably hire more people, bringing the number of employees from five to as many as 10.
The new owner plans to install a wireless Internet access point, allowing people with Wi-Fi enabled notebook computers to access the Internet.
She also plans to put in new carpet, paint one of the walls and add some new furniture.
-Story by JASON KROEKER, Owatonna People's Press
Other Stories
Fair trade products make their way to Owatonna, July 2006
-Story by JASON KROEKER, Owatonna People's Press
