Popular coffee shop celebrates 20 years

WASILLA — Though Mocha Moose may have lost the woman who was its heart and soul this spring, business is still going strong in her memory.

After about a year of battling cancer for the second time, Mocha Moose founder Rena Harrell died in May, leaving the business to her husband and head coffee roaster, Ben Harrell. But the coffee shop had pretty much been created for him anyway.

“The wife was tryin’ to get me off the (North) Slope,” Ben said, remembering the discussion fondly.

As someone who had worked in construction most of his life, Ben never pictured himself going into “public service,” as he calls the coffee business. He had grown to “like talking to people and selling stuff” as a door-to-door salesman for a time, but he wondered if he could really make a good living making coffee.

After almost two years of deliberation, Ben decided it didn’t matter much — he just wanted to spend more time with his four children. So he came home for good.

In 1994, the Harrells opened the Mocha Moose drive-thru that still stands at 227 N. Boundary St. in Wasilla. It was one of just two coffee stands in the Mat-Su Valley at the time, Ben said, and the other one had opened that same year.

Rena operated a small boutique called “Country Junction” on the same lot at the time, and was sometimes literally running back and forth between the businesses to serve customers. But it soon became apparent that the Harrells would need more hands to accommodate everyone, so they hired their first employee — a young girl named Melissa, Ben remembered. A year later, they closed Country Junction and devoted their time to the coffee business.

By the early 2000s, the drive-thru was doing well enough and the Harrells had invested enough of their time in the business to want to open a sit-down café. In 2002, Mocha Moose expanded into Nobody’s Inn (now Tailgaters Sports Bar and Grill).

When Rena got sick the first time, Ben thought it might be time to close up shop, but his wife wasn’t ready to give up what she loved. So when they saw Mocha Moose’s current sit-down location at 340 Lucille St. for lease in 2010, the Harrells made their move.

The building was once the childhood home of Wasilla’s most famous resident, and when the coffee shop opened up, former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made sure to check out her new old haunt.

Palin and Rena had become friends — or at least regular acquaintances — during Palin’s time as mayor of Wasilla, Ben said, so to some, Mocha Moose became nationally known as “Palin’s favorite coffee shop” (just as Wasilla Bible Church became “Palin’s” church on national television).

But what the Harrells really wanted the business to be known for was its family friendly atmosphere. Mocha Moose has always been a place where “kids can come and play,” Ben said, as well a central location for vendors in the last several years.

The Harrells’ oldest daughter, Karena Forster, said their semi-monthly vendor fairs have been a big hit with local craftspeople and direct salespeople who work for larger companies.

“It gives an opportunity for them to get their faces out there in the community,” Forster said.

But it’s also about supporting local charities like Frontline Mission, which was the beneficiary of Mocha Moose’s last donation collection held in conjunction with the vendor fair. On Oct. 10, they’ll host another fair and donation collection of winter hats, gloves and mittens for Mat-Su children in need.

Community involvement is a key part of Mocha Moose’s success, Ben Harrell said.

“It’s a tough business just because there are so many” places to get coffee in the Valley, he said. “You have to have something special.”

Wasilla’s Bruce Privett, who has been a regular Mocha Moose patron since before the Lucille Street location opened, said the business’s success is also a matter of incorporating two key ingredients: consistency and reliability.

Plus, the Harrells are just friendly and hard working, Privett said.

“It’s always a nice, pleasant, easygoing atmosphere,” he said.

The business has had more anonymous, written praise in their guest books over the years. In one recently filled book, one group of patrons called the shop a “home away from home,” while others left praise like “you guys rock!” and “she remembered my sugar free chai!! after not being here for 2 yrs!” about barista Brittany Harrell, Ben Harrell’s daughter-in-law.

As long as Mocha Moose keeps receiving those small, appreciative comments, Ben Harrell knows the business will have a place in the community.

“Mocha Moose is gonna be in the Valley forever,” he said.

To learn more about Mocha Moose and upcoming events at the café, visit facebook.com/mochamoosecafe or akmochamoose.com, or call 357-2326.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.