The owner of a growing Dubuque coffee business became a barista in 2003 because of a pretty girl.

“I was 16 and Badger Brothers had just opened in Platteville (Wis.),” said Darin Shireman, who grew up in Cuba City, Wis., wanting to become a pastor before getting hooked on coffee.

“In 2003, coffee shops weren’t what they are now. Every small town in America has at least one, if not two, coffee shops now,” Shireman said. “I started drinking coffee and started going there and a pretty girl was working there. I thought, ‘Well, my odds are going to go way up if I can get a job there.’”

He got the job, which has led to a 20-year career that has taken him around the world. But he didn’t get the girl.

“I found I had a knack for the work, and I also really loved the environment of a good coffee shop,” he said. “It’s the third-space concept. It’s not a workplace, it’s not home. It’s somewhere else that’s social, but isn’t a bar. And you interact with every demographic. You just get this really interesting cast of characters.”

In 2010, Shireman bought the Badger Brothers shop and started Wayfarer, which buys coffee beans directly from farmers in Central America and East Africa and then sells roasted coffee nationwide, often as a fundraising tool for schools and nonprofits. In 2020, he sold his coffee shop and moved his coffee-roasting business to Cedar Cross Court in Dubuque. In 2021, he bought Inspire Café at 955 Washington St., changing its name to Wayfarer Coffee. In 2023, he opened Wayfarer Coffee West at 2728 Asbury Road.

“That’s a pure old-school coffee shop — a small space totally focused on drinks and baked goods,” Shireman said of the westside shop.

The company’s growth is continuing into a new type of third space. Shireman is working on the expansion with a group of partners and investors that includes Gronen Properties and E.J. Droessler, former owner of L.May Eatery in Dubuque.

“I’m really excited about this. We’re going to a shared-space concept. We’re bringing in a wine bar that E.J. is opening,” Shireman said. “That’s the work we’re doing now. It’s a full renovation — lights, fans, seating, paint. We rearranged the bar. Gronen owns the building. They’ve been a very significant participant in (the project). Suffice it to say it has been plenty.”

The wine bar likely will be open by March, Shireman said.

Overseeing his growing business suits Shireman because of the variety and the challenges it offers.

“I end up going where there are problems. When something’s not working right or not working the way I want it to, that’s where I end up,” he said. “And there’s a seasonality to it as well. When we opened the West End, I was there maybe not seven days a week, but surely six. And when we’re in production season in summer into fall, I’m out at the roasting facility every day. Now that we’re doing this renovation at our downtown shop, this is where I am generally six days. I like to really dig in. I enjoy the variety. There’s always something to do. Some days I’m turning wrenches. Some days I’m doing the more refined stuff.”