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Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from the tri-states. In addition to this update from Galena, Ill., we will share other developments in Tuesday’s edition.
A new Galena coffee shop promises to give customers an out-of-this-world experience.
Cosmic Oasis: Drink Emporium plans to open soon on Galena’s Main Street. The location most recently housed Wanda’s Coffee House, which had itself replaced longtime coffee shop Mean Bean Roasters.
The business has a “retro space” theme, according to co-owner Alison Vanderpool. Among other decorations, she has painted a mural inside the shop that features former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in an old-fashioned spacesuit.
“We want to make it a fun space to visit, somewhere you want to come and take a picture for your Instagram,” she said.
Vanderpool and her husband, Shawn Vanderpool, partnered with Amelia Wilson, proprietor of Amelia’s Galena Ghost Tours and Under the Lamplight Dinner Theater, to open Cosmic Oasis.
The business offers coffees, teas, fresh lemonade, plant-based energy drinks and more. Vanderpool said the team also plans to eventually add grab-and-go snacks to the menu.
All three co-owners have worked in the service industry locally, Alison Vanderpool said, and are eager to bring their skills to a new business.
Vanderpool also has a background in special education and blind rehabilitation services. She helped launch local nonprofit Audible Visions, which makes tourism more accessible to people with low vision and other disabilities through audio description.
Vanderpool hopes to combine aspects of this work with Cosmic Oasis, such as by creating a curbside pick-up system so customers need not navigate the steps up to the business’ front door or by employing consumers from The Workshop, a Galena organization serving adults with disabilities.
“I hope this helps us be a part of downtown Galena more as a business owner … working to make it more accessible,” she said.
Cosmic Oasis: Drink Emporium is located at 240 N. Main St. in Galena. Initial hours of operation are tentatively set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Monday. For updates and more information, visit “Cosmic Oasis: Drink Emporium” on Facebook or cosmicoasisgalena.com.