Coffee shop’s Pour it Forward board gives patrons unique chance to share with others

By Mo Cranker on February 6, 2018.

Station Coffee Co. owner Jeremy Knodel hangs up a free coffee voucher for a firefighter Monday afternoon on the Pour it Forward board. The board has been up for about two years, and allows Hatters to buy an extra coffee, which is then available to whomever might need one.--NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

The People at Station Coffee Co. are trying to help people pay it forward — just in their own way.

A couple years back on Random Act of Kindness Day the store unveiled its Pour it Forward board, which allows Hatters to put an extra coffee on their tab, in hopes of someone entering the store in need of a free cup of Joe.

“The board was a mix of a few ideas that people were asking about,” said one of the store’s owners Jeremy Knodel. “People really like the idea of a suspended coffee, which allows you to buy an extra coffee and have someone else come in and ask if there’s any suspended coffees.

“We loved that idea, but knowing our customers, we knew that people really weren’t going to come up looking for free coffee. So we worked with the ideas we had and came up with the board.”

After the extra purchase is made, the store’s employees will make a personalized note on a coffee sleeve, which then shows who the coffee is for.

“At first it was just buying a coffee for anyone and putting that on the board,” said Knodel. “Over time, people have started making them a little more personalized or specific. Right now we’re seeing a lot of free coffees for police and firefighters.

“It comes in waves, we see a lot of certain things at once, then it’ll start to shift a bit. Whoever fits that free coffee is up to who buys it, but of course, we still let people just leave them open for anyone.”

Knodel says the store wanted to make it easy for anyone needing a free coffee, no matter the reason.

“For a lot of people, walking up to the counter and asking for a free coffee can be hard, and we understand that,” he said. “The board allows you to just grab the free coffee off the board and take it to the counter, just like any other transaction.”

Knodel says he isn’t sure what people will think of next for the board, but hopes it can continue to help people do some good things.

“We just want to inspire people to do good unique things to care for each other,” he said. “This is a fairly easy way to do something nice for someone, and it’s not really a big deal anything. We understand that a lot of people need a coffee to get through the day, and for some people, a free coffee will make the day a bit better.”

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