Conversations with Lauren VanWinkle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren VanWinkle.

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In the fall of 2014, we opened Local Jonny’s – a simple coffee shop serving Firecreek coffee and sharing our building with the Flat Tire Bike Shop. We had a small space and have slowly expanded over the years. In 2020, the bike shop moved their operation across the street, and we decided to build our Tavern bar and make improvements to our backyard patio and stage. We switched over our service model from counter service/coffee shop to full-service restaurant when the pandemic hit. We served our community by selling essential items and groceries curbside, throughout the business closures.

Jon and I met in 2011, in Cave Creek. Jon has lived here most of his life, and I am originally from Washington State. We were working together in a local coffee shop when we had the opportunity to open our own, thanks to Kaolin at the Flat Tire Bike Shop.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
COVID hit us hard.

Having two young kids and a new marriage and our first home has been a lot to manage, along with our business.

The restaurant industry operates on slim margins, and increasing costs have been difficult to navigate over the past few years.

I took some time off to focus on my mental health in 2023 and 2024.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We originally opened our doors as a quick-service coffee shop, with a few pastries and sandwiches.

Now that we are a full-service restaurant, we still pride ourselves on fresh, quality ingredients, and the friendliest staff in town. We are happy and proud of our work supporting local nonprofits, schools, and charity organizations. When Cave Creek was on fire in 2020 we organized a town-wide fundraiser for those who lost homes/property/possessions.

We have a fun gift shop with many AZ-made items for sale. We support local artists and have all local art and photography on our walls.

We host local events and fundraisers, including the Cave Creek Cactus Classic, a 25 mile mountain bike race through the Spur Cross conservation area.

We are proud of our diverse, kind staff.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I wish we had some experience in business before opening Local Jonny’s. Jon and I both only had restaurant jobs and coffee shop jobs before opening. It would have been useful to have a better understanding of costs, pricing, ordering, and inventory management. We learned everything the hard way. It’s been life-changing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://localjonnys.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/localjonnys
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/localjonnys
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/localjonnys
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/local-jonnys-tavern-and-café-cave-creek

Image Credits
Chacon Media