Former Belgium coffee shop finds a new home nearby

A recently closed Belgium coffee shop has found a new home in downtown Cedar Grove.

Ugly Mugs co-owners Trina Klemeneic and Laurie Urbanski opened the doors to their new shop at 221 S. Main St. last Monday. The previous tenant was coffee shop Koffie Trader, whose owners is taking over Java House in Cedarburg.

Klemeneic started Ugly Mugs in 2022 in a Belgium strip mall.

It was a major hit, she said. Customers came not only for Mug’s ice cream, homemade doughnuts and coffee but for the shop’s game room and events like vendor markets and open mic nights.

Mugs became so busy that Klemeneic shut down her neighboring business, Style Beauty and Wellness Salon, to dedicate all her time to the shop.

However, Klemeneic said, she was told last year Mugs’ building was being torn down and she had to move out.

Mugs was “business homeless” for a year, she said, before Urbanski joined as co-owner and they found a home in Cedar Grove.

It was a tumultuous process finding a new home, she said, but the Cedar Grove location feels like the “perfect place to be.”

Klemeneic said the new shop is close enough to the old location for many of her established customers to still come in.

Mugs replaces Koffie Trader, a coffee shop that opened in 2021.

“It was important to them (the owners of Trader) that there was still a shop serving the community, and they knew Trina and her reputation,” Urbanski said.

Urbanski worked in the financial sector and is involved in Random Lake’s Music in the Park festivals and other music events. She met Klemeneic through the events hosted at Mugs.

Urbanski said Klemeneic was hoping to lighten the workload of running a coffee shop single-handedly.

“I think that’s why she came to me. She said, ‘I want to do it, but not alone,’” Urbanski said.

Klemeneic said she looks forward to a lighter schedule.

“It will be good to have family time — maybe not this first week,” she said.

The Cedar Grove location has benefited from Klemeneic’s experience running the Belgium shop, which was her first coffee shop.

“It’s a lot of knowing what worked and what didn’t,” she said.

Walking in, it’s hard to believe the new shop has only been open for a week. It is fully stocked with signature ugly mugs and products from nearby vendors like soap, candles and leather goods, along with a game room for children in the back.

Urbanski said they’ve been lucky in finding employees. They have six so far.

Mugs didn’t have a formal hiring process. Instead, people from the community reached out to Klemeneic and Urbanski or came into the store to ask about jobs.

Urbanski said their ability to build schedules around their employees’ availability helped. For example, some of their employees are mothers who work while their children are in school.

Mugs opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. on weekdays, and the store gets customers throughout that time, Urbanski said.

“As soon as that door opens people want coffee. Then, we get the lunch rush. Then, odd enough, we even get a dinner crowd,” she said. Mug’s menu includes bagels, sandwiches, paninis and salads.

“We thought, ‘Go big,’” Urbanski said about the all-day hours and full-kitchen offerings.

Mugs has regular customers not only from the Belgium and Cedar Grove areas, but from as far as West Bend, Klemeneic said.

“People know us from so many of the events out and about that we’ve done over the years,” she said. Mugs often has a stand at farmers markets and festivals.

Urbanski said the shop’s location on Highway 32 has helped draw people on road trips and commuters.

Like the Belgium location, there will be music events and open mic nights, Klemeneic said.

The Cedar Grove coffee shop is better equipped for hosting events, she said.

“We did them in Belgium, but we did them in the shop. We didn’t have much space there,” she said.

Mugs is also offering catering.

Recently, Mugs offered a full spread, including beef tips and charcuterie, for a Cedar Grove-Belgium School District Hall of Fame night that had over 160 attendees.

It has also provided desserts for weddings and anniversaries.

The name comes from the wide assortment of coffee cups in the shop donated by customers — including plenty of “Number #1 Dad” mugs — a tradition that’s happily found a new home in Cedar Grove.

“We ask people, ‘Is there an ugly mug you prefer?’” Urbanski said. “Lots of people have their favorite.”

Mugs original home in Belgium wasn’t demolished. The space now houses device repair shop Game N’ Repair.