Kickapoo Coffee’s New Name, New Café

Kickapoo Coffee is set to open their first Madison location in the spring of 2020 on the Capitol Square, a culminating moment for the 15-year-old company as it unveils its new name—which at the time of this writing is yet unknown.

The award-winning, organic coffee roaster from Viroqua announced on social media in early 2019 that it would be changing its name in an act of deference to the Kickapoo Nation. In an official statement published on their website, Kickapoo Coffee founders and co-owners TJ Semanchin and Caleb Nicholes called their original decision to use the name of the Kickapoo People, and to continue to operate under it, “an act of appropriation” and have since apologized directly to the Kickapoo Nation and their leadership. Since the announcement, Kickapoo Coffee has pledged publicly to deepen their commitment to accountability, social justice and equity in the coffee industry and beyond.

The rebranding of Kickapoo Coffee, a well-known industry leader in sustainability and bridging the divide between producers and consumers, comes as a humbling and nuanced reminder that, in order to make the world a more just place, businesses and individuals alike must hold within themselves the capacity for sincerity, vulnerability and change. The Madison café, to be located on the south corner of the square, at West Main, South Hamilton and South Carroll streets, will be the roaster’s fourth location in the state, with the others being in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, Viroqua and Bayfield.