Since 1975

Like all good stories, the details of The Mill's origins vary depending on who's telling the story. What we do know is that during a bitter Nebraska winter in the mid 1970's the folks at a local bike shop had an idea. The everyday shop coffee they served left much to be desired, so why not improve on it and at the same time generate a bit of cold weather revenue for the small bicycle shop? This quest turned into something of an obsession and soon their shop coffee was causing quite the stir. To these bicycle shop guys, this highlighted a distinct lack of gourmet quality coffee in Lincoln, and coupled with the increasing popularity of their coffee, they decided to open a small gourmet coffee and tea store adjacent to the bike shop. Thus began the first version of what we know as The Mill.

As The Mill grew over the ensuing years we moved into a larger location a few blocks north of the bike shop. Some years later when that building was slated for demolition to make way for a big, new bank and parking garage we moved into an old brick warehouse in the yet-to-be developed historic Haymarket district of downtown Lincoln. That was in 1988. Now, with much more room to work, a coffee roaster was purchased and The Mill began roasting its own coffee right in the store. Tables, chairs, coffee brewers and an espresso machine were added to the mix and Lincoln's first true espresso bar and coffee house was born. A number of renovations and expansions have happened over the following twenty-four years, but The Mill is still serving coffee in that warehouse, and the guys, now world class coffee roasters and top shelf baristas, keep striving to make it better.

While The Mill has expanded, opening a second location in the College View neighborhood in 2001, and grown well beyond what the guys imagined in 1975, some things won't ever change: insistence on quality, people before dollars, and a commitment to doing it right or not at all.