Meet the Wilson Family – the smiling faces behind Door County Coffee
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Vicki Wilson, a woman with a love for coffee and a love for Door County who made her dream a reality. With a smile on her face, Vicki will tell you about the days she brushed the coffee beans out of her hair after roasting and then hit the road to start calling on customers with her one employee in 1993. Now, all these years later, the Door County Coffee tradition continues to grow each year with now 65 plus staff working behind the leadership of this incredible business woman. Along with her husband Doug, Vicki continues to make the decisions that are not only good for company growth, but most importantly for her employees. She always says that her first job is “people” and by that she means her team. She often says, “we are in the people business, we happen to roast coffee!” Her positive outlook on life and smart business sense is passed to all of the nearly 65 employees daily as she gives them continued opportunities to learn and grow. Vicki has also passed this on to a few other important people in her life, her grown sons Doug and Conrad, who have worked in many capacities throughout the company over the years and truly are excellent examples of their incredible parents. Prior to starting this business in 1993, Vicki spent years as a buyer for both Ben Franklin at its Chicago Headquarters and with Shopko Corporation at its General Office in Green Bay. She now spends her time at the office putting smiles on everyone face, coming up with new ideas and making sure Door County Coffee is and continues to be a well-oiled machine. If she isn’t at the office you can find her spending time with her sweet granddaughters Elsie and Livia.
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Behind every great woman is a great man and Doug Sr. has been just that as co-founder, biggest supporter and rock to his wife, Vicki. It was Vicki’s idea to start this business, but it was Doug’s R & D and engineering mind that developed the roasting process and all things manufacturing. Doug is a graduate of West Point, where he started his career in the US Army and was recruited to Procter & Gamble. Doug “kept his day job” as an engineer while working nights, weekends and even early mornings to help the business grow. Fast forward – Doug Sr officially retired from a great and fulfilling career at P & G in 2013 to work one job – ONE BIG JOB at DCC. He’s been the brains of the roasting and manufacturing process and has passed his engineering brilliance on to his son, Conrad, who with him continue to strive for excellence and continuous improvement. When he’s not at the plant working, he’s enjoying every one of our coffees at home in the woods in Door County or spending time with Livia and Elsie. |
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As the youngest son of Door County Coffee's founders, Conrad grew up in the business. He started as a dishwasher, then moved to barista and waiter mastering the hospitality side of the company. After graduating from Milwaukee School of Engineering, he put his engineering skills to work outside the family business but always hoped to return to it. As the business grew, it required his engineering talent for continuously improving the processes to keep mugs full of what we all call the “best coffee on the planet!” He is married to his high school sweetheart, Amanda (who also works in the family business), and they have a beautiful baby daughter, Elsie. When Conrad is not working, you can find him hanging with his wife Amanda and their sweet daughter Elsie, watching anything involving Wisconsin sports, or playing with his dog, Kobe. |
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The oldest son of Door County Coffee’s founders, Doug has been exposed to the coffee roasting business since 7 years old. After graduating college with a dual major in Finance & Economics, along with a semester abroad at Westminster University, Doug returned to the family business as the Director of Grocery. Now, as the Director of Business Development, he’s in charge of managing our Food Service & Grocery Divisions and leads: Product Innovation, Export Programs and Packaging Design. When Doug isn’t at work pulling some serious shenanigans, you can find him at home with his wife Katie and their sweet baby girl, Livia and their dog Daisy! |
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Amanda joined Door County Coffee in 2012 as a barista & server and worked through high school and college in our Café. Her love of people and kind nature made her a natural “people pleaser” and the café folks wanted to keep her forever, but Doug & Vicki had bigger plans for this bright girl and after her college graduation, she was promoted to HR Specialist. She is still that “people pleaser” but now that talent is used internally to keep our over 50 great folks engaged, productive and happy in their roles at DCC. She’s always Her role has been expanded to Food Safety and she’s also the “right –hand-woman” to our President. She married her high school sweetheart, Conrad and they welcomed a beautiful daughter, Elsie, in 2022! She loves running (even at 10 degrees below zero), spending time with Elsie and Conrad, and their goofy dog Kobe. |
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Katie joined the Wilson family in 2020 and officially joined the family business in late 2022. After years spent as a elementary classroom teacher, Katie now uses her patience and ability to multi-task to assist with many different Accounting and bookkeeping duties. Her attention to detail and incredibly kind personality has made her a welcome asset to our team. We know her students miss her, but we are thrilled to have here here with us. When she is not here in the office, she can be found enjoying time with her sweet daughter Livia and trying to keep her husbands Doug's shenanigan's at bay! |
Amanda – HR Specialist and Right-Hand-Woman to the President
Katie Wilson - Accounting
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