Brewed by Two Brings Coffee, Biscuits and Community to Verndale
- 31 minutes ago
- 2 min read
by Trinity Gruenberg
A long awaited business on Highway 10 in Verndale has recently opened for coffee lovers. Brewed by Two is a coffee shop that its owners hope will become a daily stop for locals and a hub for the community.
Owners Marlo Corona and LaDonna Norenberg opened on February 2, and their grand opening was held on February 12.
The duo met eight years ago while working together at the Timberlake Hotel. What began as a workplace friendship has turned into a business partnership in Verndale.
Norenberg spent more than a decade at Burger King, most recently as a night closer, and said the hours pushed her to consider something different. She said she was ready to do something of her own and to build toward a different kind of “retirement.”
“I wanted to do my own thing,” she said. “I know I can retire in about 10 years, but who said retirement is sitting on the couch doing nothing? This would be lovely to retire into.”
Her barista skills came from her time working at the Village Emporium.
Corona had previously dipped a toe into small business with a craft shop in Wadena, and that earlier business shaped her vision for what a future shop could be.
“I thought this would be a really nice coffee shop or sandwich shop. I’ve always kind of wanted to do something like that.”
The pair started casually looking at buildings, first in Staples, and then in Verndale. Corona kept noticing the former Galley restaurant building on the highway.
“I kept driving by here, and I wondered what the deal was with this building, because it’s just been sitting here,” she said.
They met with the building’s owner, Wade, and worked out a deal to rent the building. The building, however, needed work. As the building needed a deep cleaning and some appliance replacements, Corona and Norenberg offered sweat equity instead of demanding a fully refurbished space, and a deal on rent the first few months...
