Maddie Kombrink poses in the lobby of Coppa Cafe where she is now the new owner after working as an employee on and off for the last five years. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Maddie Kombrink poses in the lobby of Coppa Cafe where she is now the new owner after working as an employee on and off for the last five years. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Former employee now calling the shots for popular cafe

New ownership takes over at Coppa.

Wasting time isn’t on the menu for the multi-talented Maddie Kombrink. After calling Juneau home for just six years, she’s taking over ownership of a popular downtown cafe.

“Not everybody gets this opportunity to step into such a well-formed role already in such an established company and business in Juneau,” said Kombrink. “It’s not something I take lightly.”

Local Juneau Cafe Coppa recently announced that as of Thursday, Kombrink, a former Coppa employee, would be assuming ownership from former co-owners Jessica Paris and Marc Wheeler.

Kombrink, who has a degree in biology, has worked for Coppa off and on for the last five years while also pursuing other opportunities. Kombrink said most recently she had worked for Coppa until April of this year when she left to take a job with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on the Medeia research vessel.

She’s also worked with Wild Oven as a professional baker while taking summer jobs as a chef on yachts throughout Southeast Alaska. Kombrink said she and her fiance Cory Hansen were just married last September and said that the decision of ownership came shortly after.

“Marc (Wheeler) came to me when he was thinking about moving on and selling the business to somebody, he really wanted it to go to a former employee, that was huge for him,” Kombrink said. “So, he came to me, and I’ve always thought of running some sort of coffee shop here in Juneau. My brain didn’t have that happening until 10 to 15 years from now, but when Marc came to me and said this is what he was doing, I kind of took it as a sign that I needed to seriously think about it.”

In a news release announcing the change, the former owners expressed excitement.

“We love Maddie, and we know she has the right skills and energy to bring Coppa to the next level,” Paris said. “Keeping the cafe in the Coppa family means the world to us.”

Added Wheeler: “We can’t wait to see what Maddie brings to the business in her new role.”

Originally from the Chicago area, Kombrink moved to Juneau to work on a troll-caught salmon tender in Pelican. According to Kombrink, after working in Alaska for a summer, she fell in love with Southeast and immediately put plans into motion to become a full-time resident.

“Coppa was actually my first job in Juneau five years ago. It was one of those types of situations where I was like, ‘Oh, I need a job, so let’s go work at a coffee shop and now here I am,’” Kombrink said.

While Kombrink said that for the most part she plans to maintain Coppa’s current menu and operations, in the near future, she intends to provide additional offerings to the cafe that can cater to the surrounding businesses for folks who are looking for a quick-but-nutritious meal to take on the go.

“The biggest thing right now, we’re just going to focus a lot more on quality and consistent coffee and customer service,” Kombrink said. “We just really want to keep going above and beyond everywhere else in town and just really trying to be top notch. But short term, I think we’re looking to expand on our food offerings. I want to do a lot more healthy grab-and-go options for people who work around Coppa.”

Kombrink said she’s excited for the opportunity and what the future may hold, but at the same time wants to remain realistic about challenges that are certain to present themselves along the way. In that regard, Kombrink refers to her many days of working with crews on the open seas and said there are a lot of comparisons to be made between running a good business and working aboard boats.

“I think the biggest challenge with anything regarding running a business is just maintaining a solid team with good morale,” Kombrink said. “It’s kind of like working on boats, if you have a solid crew, it makes every single task so much better.”

In addition to staying focused on maintaining outstanding management, Kombrink said that making sure people know that Coppa is still a community focused place where all kinds of people from within the community can gather and feel supported will always be of the utmost importance to her. And though she’s only been on the job officially for one day, she said she’s already been feeling the community’s love and acceptance.

“I just had a conversation with our pastry chef in the back and she was telling me, ‘We had a really busy lunch. Everyone was just buzzing in here.’ And it just means the world to me that people see the news and they come in because of it,” Kombrink said. “They see that I’m the owner and they’re excited, so they bring their business here, and it feels really good.”

• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.

More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for t​​he Week of Sept. 17

Here’s what to expect this week.

Samantha Crain, of the Choctaw Nation, sings to the crowd during a performance Thursday night as part of the Áak’w Rock music festival at Centennial Hall. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
‘It’s pure resiliency’: Áak’w Rock kicks off

The three-day Indigenous music festival attracts full crowds during its first night.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, walks down a hallway Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at the Alaska State Capitol. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
With Alaska’s federal judge vacancy nearing 2-year mark, Sullivan breaks from nomination tradition

Murkowski appears skeptical about the switch, saying she’s prepared to advance nominees to Biden

Jordan Creek flows over a portion of a footbridge behind a shopping center Thursday evening. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Jordan Creek, Montana Creek and Auke Lake until 10 a.m. Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Flood warning for Jordan Creek, Montana Creek and Auke Lake issued until 10 a.m. Friday

Glacier Highway, structures near Jordan Creek may inundated, according to National Weather Service.

Soon-departing Assembly member and Deputy Mayor Maria Gladziszewski smiles for a photo at her seat in the Assembly chambers Thursday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Q&A: Deputy Mayor Gladziszewski prepares for departure, shares advice to candidates

The long-serving Juneau Assembly member nears the end of her final term.

Participants in the 38th Annual International Coastal Cleanup carry a fishnet to a boat on a coast near Sitka in August. (Ryan Morse / Sitka Conservation Society)
Resilient Peoples and Place: Coastal cleanup removes 1,400 lbs. of trash from Sitka’s beaches

Effort by wide range of groups part of global project that has collected 350 million lbs. of waste.

Cars drive past the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau on Thursday. This year’s Permanent Fund dividend will be $1,312, the state Department of Revenue announced. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
This year’s official Permanent Fund dividend: $1,312

Distribution of payments will begin Oct. 5.

Albino Mbie, a Mozambique-born musician whose band is now based in Boston, performs during a youth jam at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Wednesday night as a prelude to the Áak’w Rock Indigenous music festival that starts Thursday. His band is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Áakʼw Rock ready for full-fledged opening as ‘monumental, historic event’

Youth jam Wednesday offers preview as only Indigenous music festival in U.S. makes in-person debut.

This is a photo of the front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 21, 2005. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Sept. 24

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Most Read