Homemade fare helps coffee shop stand out

WASILLA — When it comes to grabbing a quick bite to eat or a specialty mocha, size isn’t everything. It’s no secret the Valley is home to a large contingent of coffee lovers, who support a small village of specialty espresso and coffee stands.

Just along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway anywhere from 15 to 20 stands dot the roadway at any given time. One of the more recognizable is a bright blue oasis in the MTA parking log.

True to its trademark sign, My Garden Party has carved out a niche as a unique small business that relies on variety and customer service to survive in the area’s highly competitive coffee shop industry.

The secret, said owner Nicole Kozak, is family. In addition to artisan espressos and coffees, Kozak also offers a variety of home cooking, including soups, sandwiches, snacks and daily lunch specials. Along with the home cooking, Kozak treats her customers like members of the family, greeting them by name and asking how their day’s going.

“You have to be personable with your customers,” she said about the key to surviving as a small business. “You have to have that one-on-one with your customers, because the robot attitude of ‘here’s your drink, where’s your money?’ doesn’t work. You have to treat them like they matter, because they do.”

Kozak celebrates her four-year anniversary this month of owning My Garden Party. But owning her own eatery wasn’t always part of her long-term plans. She worked for the previous owner, and when she retired was offered a chance to buy the place.

“She started it off doing the homemade foods and stuff, and knew I liked to cook,” Kozak said. “It was very scary at first, owning your own business. You have to take a risk and have faith it’s all going to work out. Faith is a big part of it. I have the faith and a lot of support from family and friends, and we’ve been going strong for four years.”

From spicy ravioli to chicken and dumplings to baked potato, Kozak’s soups are popular with customers, as are her daily specials. One day it could be beef stroganoff on egg noodles or overstuffed shredded beef or chicken soft tacos, another day it could be a breakfast bake of scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon over home fries with country gravy. Last week, her specials included chicken fajitas and bacon and cheese quiche.

“You have to have variety,” she said. “It gives people more of that down-home feeling. Every day, five days a week, it’s all homemade — and they always sell out, and once it’s sold out, that’s it.”

Helping to impart that family feel is Kozak’s mother, Georgette, who works with her daughter. But make no mistake, Nicole is the cook.

“Mom taught me how to cook. She always made good food,” she said. So who’s the better cook? “Oh come on, you can’t make me answer that.”

And if the first rule of business success is location, location, location, My Garden Party has just the right spot at MTA, said Melissa Henn, an MTA employee who has been a customer of Kozak’s for four years.

“Oh, her coffee is very good,” Henn said. “It’s where I go all the time. I only go to one other place for coffee, and that’s on the weekends because she’s not open on the weekends.”

She also likes the friendly rapport Kozak has with her customers, and her mother.

“I don’t even know her mom’s name, I just call her mom,” she said. “It’s become more than just a customer-type relationship now, I think. She’s convenient, has competitive prices and after going there for four years, we’re friends.”

It doesn’t hurt having a good coffee and lunch spot right outside the front door, Henn said.

“Oh, she makes a lot of business from us,” she said. “We probably support her quite a bit. I would guess about 75 percent of us eat or drink there.”

In fact, Kozak said some MTA employees have her on speed-dial to call in an order or ask about the daily specials.

Knowing her customers by name is what helps her make it through her 70-hour work weeks, Kozak said.

“Repeat customers is so important,” she said. “If I don’t get repeat customers, I feel like I’ve failed. You have to be very patient, you really do. You have to take the good days with the bad days. The thing I like the most is meeting the new customers, the new people, the new faces — especially when they find out we have more than just drinks.”

She also supports other local businesses when she can. Her coffee is from a Palmer roastery.

“The business is about half and half, coffee and food,” she said. “That it’s local means a lot to the customers when they ask about our blend.”

While Kozak likes to create a family feel, there are limits to even the closest of families, Henn said.

“We’ve asked her for some recipes, but she won’t give them out. Those are her and mom’s special secrets.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.