Rachel Bartels and her sister, Wilhelmina, are the owners of the coffee shop located downtown New Haven at 123 Front Street. The coffee shop, The New Day Mercantile, is an addition of the Front Street Artisans.
Co-owner, Rachel Bartels, explains the story behind the coffee shop. “Both my sister and I have been working for small businesses since we were 16 at several different gift shops in Hermann. We decided that we would one day like to own a shop of our own someday--a shop where we would sell handmade items, art work by local artists, perhaps even some cute, comfy clothes.”
“We are a coffee drinking family. We wanted to add something that would bring people in to sit, visit and relax in a simple, casual way; for us, coffee was the answer,” Rachel added.
The small shop not only sells artisan crafted coffee, but also clothing items, jewelry, and other creations made by local artists.
“[W]e have work from about 30 craftsmen and artists all from Missouri, most in the Washington, New Haven, and Hermann areas. The variety of their work that they do includes wood work, pottery, pastel drawings, handmade purses, knitted works, hand painted signs, jewelry, and more,” Rachel mentioned.
Currently, every other Friday, the students at New Haven High get discounted coffee an hour before school. This “student hour” came about when 3 of the high school students were to choose a local business in which to form a partnership for a FBLA competition.
Andrew Menke is one of the 3 members on the team for the competition. “We chose to partner with the coffee shop downtown because we really wanted to promote a business in our town. The New Day Mercantile and Front Street Artisans was a perfect fit! It is a small shop which is located right in our backyard.”
“I’m really glad they decided to work with us. They are very nice people and I’m excited to grow our partnership with them even more so in the future. Even if we didn’t have the student hour, I would still go because their coffee is amazing!” exclaimed Dakota Schroeder, who is also part of the FBLA group going to state in April with this project.
The third member of the FBLA group is Emily Lewis.
The New Day Mercantile and Front Street Artisans is only open on the weekends. The hours are listed below.
Hours:
Thursday and Friday
7:30am - 5:00pm
Saturday
10:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday
12:00pm - 5:00pm
“He [Alan Bell] liked our ideas and sold us the business. We ended up in the right place at the right time, which ended up being New Haven.”
This Friday, April 1st, is the next student hour before school. Bring your lunch card to get a discount!
*The student discount only applies to New Haven High School students currently enrolled.*