About Us

Family is very important to Heidi and Hilary. When deciding on a name for their café, Roots made sense, because their father’s roots are from Oconomowoc and their mother’s roots are from Waukesha. 

Growing up they often talked about opening a coffee shop together. They wanted to build a place for people to meet, and spend quality time together. Coming from very hard-working parents; their Dad was an electrician for 34 years, and their mom went back to school to be a nurse after having five kids. A year before their parents were set to retire to explore the world, their dad learned he had ALS and had only two years left to live. They showed their daughters that life is too short to have dreams, stay dreams. After a lot of planning, saving and hard work by them and their families, Heidi and Hilary opened their dream coffee shop in August 2011. Thankfully their dad was able to see their dream come true before passing away in October 2011. He is very much a part of the coffee shop every day, at any given day you may see their mom, sibling, or even child working and helping out.

At Roots, you can sense the love for family as soon as you open the door. Some special touches, include having the sandwich creations invented by family members and named after their parents’ favorite bands.

In 2015 they received The Woman in Business Leadership award from the Oconomowoc Chamber of Commerce.

Hilary

 

Hilary - Owner

Hilary has been in the coffee industry for 18 years. She received a BA in Sociology at Luther College in Decorah IA. She has always wanted to be among the community and around people of all different ages and backgrounds. Hilary has an extreme love for her family, which include her two sons and husband Kaleb.

Heidi Headshot
christie

 

Heidi - Owner
Heidi received a BS in Business Management and her career history includes customer service and project management. She has a passion for working with the community and volunteering her time to make the community vibrant. Heidi has an extreme love for her family, two children Jaelyn and Jace, and her high school sweetheart Jason.

 

 

Christie - General Manager
Christie was born and raised in Oconomowoc. She has multiple certifications that accompany her 18 years of restaurant, customer service and management. If you don't see her at Roots, she is somewhere downtown Oconomowoc volunteering her time putting on events. She loves playing/watching sports and absolutely loves hanging out with her amazing niece and nephews.

 

 

Hilary and Heidi on Youtube

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