Teenage brothers operate Negaunee business

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NEGAUNEE - The coffee-house order that came through the little south-facing window of Carl's Coffee in Negaunee was simple enough to those who know the lingo.

"I'd like two tall, skinny lattes," said the first customer to the little shop on the south side of U.S. 41 near Baldwin Ave.

While those who have had cafe-ordering experience know that's a 12-ounce coffee made with hot skim milk, new business owner Carl Geoffrion had no clue what to do with his first-ever order.

The 17-year-old Negaunee High School junior suddenly realized something.

"I had a lot to learn," said Geoffrion, who signed a lease on the former "Cruise-N-Coffee" location almost three months ago. "I had to learn all the machines, what mixtures went into the different drinks. I had to find out what a tall was, what a grande was and what a tiny and a skinny was. There was a lot more to coffee than I thought."

But Geoffrion and his business partner - who just happens to be his 16-year-old brother, Sam Moser - have learned the ins and outs. It just takes a few seconds before steaming espresso is poured into a cup, mixed with caramel and then blended with ice cream.

"It's a caramel frost," said Moser, who is a sophomore at North Star Academy. "I really like making the specialty ones. You get to do a lot of interesting mixtures."

While the brothers haven't been getting much in the way of a paycheck from the little drive-through shop, they said the lessons they have learned from working there have been invaluable.

"You learn a lot about hard work and dealing with people," Moser said. "You have to learn real quick about communicating with different kinds of customers."

The two business owners may not be getting rich, but they're willing to spread the wealth nonetheless. "Non-profit Mondays" is a program they have started along with their only employee: Their mother, Lisa Geoffrion. The program will take any profits from Mondays and donate them to a variety of non-profit groups and causes.

Groups range from the Negaunee High School softball teams to the Lakeview Elementary library project to Head Start programs.

"We really want to give back to the community," Carl Geoffrion said.

While summer has been a little slower than the brothers would like, Geoffrion and Moser said the business has seen steady growth as the days until school wind down.

"We're hoping we keep seeing that increase," Geoffrion said. "Right now it's going pretty good, but we would like to see more business."

Carl's Coffee, which offers coffee and espresso drinks and ice cream, is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.