Lawrence Lady Boss | KELLY WOODSON
LADY BOSS PROFILE
Meet Kelly Woodson, the owner of Koffee Korner, the coffee shop located inside Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The Koffee Korner has been there since 2011 and JUST opened a second location at the LMH West Campus by Rock Chalk Park. Kelly says, "what motivates me most are my baristas. Every single one of them has had huge ideas and passions for this business & being able to see that sparkle in their eye is the best feeling in the world."
What is your goal for the next year?
To get our West location more known to the surrounding neighborhoods. We opened on September 14th, which is already crazy and to put a pandemic on top of things, it’s been a slower start for all of us. We are hoping to get curbside pickup up and running before the end of the year as well as find a local baker and/or bakery to work with.
Who has influenced you the most?
Our customers and the staff at LMH. They have become family over the last ten years and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. Not only have they always been there for me but, for every individual who has worked as a barista over the years. There are no words that can express the amount of gratitude I have for them.
Myself and three of our baristas all walked out crying the day we closed for lockdown, it was hard not knowing when we would be back again to help our frontline healthcare workers & see their smiling faces (we still miss seeing their smiles!!). We got constant messages on our social media accounts from them, pictures of them standing in front of The Korner with frowning faces, ways they created their own mini coffee stations in their lounges, and after it has been weeks, we started getting daily questions about when we’d return.
Basically, they are my hero’s and always have been, long before COVID. ❤️
What one piece of advice do you give to other business owners?
Your team is your family, they are the soul to whatever you envision & they deserve all the love in the world.
When you are not working, what are you doing?
Doing something with my daughter; board games, tickle fights, scaring her, learning how to do first grade on a tablet... ha!
Or, in pjs, drinking coffee & sitting on the porch.
What Lawrence hidden gem do you recommend everyone checks out?
This is a hard one... however, I have come to realize that Lawrence itself is a hidden gem. You don’t get the same feeling anywhere else in the world that you get here.
If you could change one thing about your business, what would you change?
I have a dream to have a small shop somewhere outside the hospital, it’s hard to have people come visit us for a coffee due to our location. Plus, most people don’t want to go to the hospital just for fun...
Find Kelly on Facebook at The Koffee Korner and on Instagram at @thekoffeekorner. Visit The Koffee Korner on the web at https://thekoffeekornerlmh.square.site.