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LAKE MILLS — Three women in Lake Mills recently decided to combine their unique talents and keep a local business open in the community.

Jena B Hill, Molly Payne and Emily Payne are the current owners of Payne Coffeehouse LLC DBA Swallow Coffee. The former owners closed the coffee house late last year.
Hill is from Texas, but she moved to the Lake Mills area in September. She said she had just been laid off from her job at United Healthcare after the CEO of the company was killed.

Hill said she needed to come up with a new idea for employment and decided to reach out to her cousin, Molly Payne, about opening a business together.

Molly Payne has prior experience working at a coffee shop in Minneapolis. Her wife, Emily Payne, is a baker whose cinnamon roll knots are famous in the area.

Additionally, Emily’s family is related to Tony Gau, the owner of the Swallow CoffeeHouse building. The three women bought the contents of the coffee shop and began cleaning around December. It took a long time, Hill said, as various things continued to come up while they were working on the store.

Hill, Molly and Emily opened Swallow CoffeeHouse in January, selling a variety of coffee drinks, baked goods and homemade soups.

“We don’t know if we’re a coffee shop with a baking habit or a bake shop with a coffee habit,” Hill said.

Opening a new business has been an adventure, she added, saying that some days are very busy while other days are slow.

Hill, Molly and Emily have created a setup in Swallow CoffeeHouse that is welcoming and cozy. In addition to tables, chairs and couches, the store also has a stage with a drum set and a back room where children can play.

“We encourage people to come up and play music, and just make this a place of meeting for the community,” Hill said. She said the store is open for book clubs and other gatherings. Molly said she is interested in hosting board game activities at the store. They are also planning a Caitlin Clark basketball day.

“I think this is really what this is about. We want to get people in the community back into the habit of remembering we’re in this space,” Molly said. She also said when they opened the store, they wanted to sell fresh foods that a person could not get at a gas station or diner.

Lake Mills has a lot of those, she said, and they do a great job. Swallow CoffeeHouse focuses more on things that people can’t necessarily buy in northern Iowa, like French pastries.

Hill said Swallow CoffeeHouse is currently transitioning from selling soups to foods more geared toward summer, like salads and sandwiches.

“We’re just three cousins who have a dream,” said Hill. “This was our dream.”

Swallow CoffeeHouse is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The store is located at 225 W. Main St. in Lake Mills.