Menu
Chamber of Commerce welcomes hometown espresso shop
McCOOK, Neb. – If you get hungry for a pumpkin flavor in the middle of July, Joltin Jo’s Espresso has you covered. Jody Frazier told a chamber gathering Monday morning that the popular drive-through coffee shop has new specialty drinks every month, but you don’t have to worry about that favorite seasonal flavor going away. They can make any specialty drink any time of the year.
And if you don’t see something on the menu that excites you, you’re welcome to create your own drink.
One of their biggest drinks is the Mocha Mud, a Frappe made with ground-up Oreos and topped with whipped cream and Oreo pieces. That drink was designed by Jennifer Allen, a former employee.
Joe and Jody Frazier give their staff all the credit for the success of Joltin Jo’s Espresso over the past 17 years. “They may not know your name, but I bet they can tell you what you’re drinking,” Joe said of his staff as he joked with the crowd of chamber visitors. The chamber hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Joltin Jo’s Monday morning, as the coffee shop recently became a chamber member.
Joltin' Jo’s currently employs eight baristas, and Jody said they are great about taking the intimidation factor out of ordering a drink.
She said they can guide people through their choices if they don’t know what to order. But they also know their customers, and if someone has a “regular” drink, they are on top of it.
Joltin' Jo’s Espresso started in December 2005. At the time, Jody was a para-professional with McCook Public Schools, and although she wasn’t a huge coffee fan, she liked the “jolt” that the coffee she purchased from a mobile trailer gave her.
She felt that a permanent drive-through coffee shop that offered a variety to customers would go over well.
Their location at 701 West B had been vacant for seven years and was overgrown with weeds and trees. She convinced the owners to sell the property to her and “the rest is history,” according to Jody.
She wanted to have the independence to choose products that she and her customers liked, so she opted to be an independent coffee shop rather than corporate.
She hosted “tasting parties”, inviting people to help her choose the brands and menu items based on taste preferences.
Jody says she’s a mother first and not really a businesswoman. One of their signature drinks is the Bison 45, a tribute to both of her sons’ Bison football days when they wore the number 45 on Weiland Field. “It tastes like a cinnamon roll in a cup,” Jody said.
Jody and her crew are always experimenting with offering new products and flavors. If an item doesn’t appeal to customers, they drop it and replace it with something else.
A new item that Jody is featuring this week only is “lollies”.
Random visitors throughout this week may get one of the colorful candies that come in a variety of fun flavors such as Carmel Latte, Cinnamon Roll, Birthday Cake, or Lucky Charmed. “We’ll experiment, give some away and see how people respond to them. They may not be a hit, or they may be,” Jody said.
That independence has helped Joltin Jo’s Espresso become a favorite for locals and visitors alike. Their hours are Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
They also offer online ordering.