(upbeat music) - [Person 1] LuLu Beans is an actual coffee house.

It has probably eight different rooms.

The building that LuLu Beans is in is about a hundred years old.

I just love how unique it is.

All the different little rooms.

- [Person 2] It's just a wonderful little atmosphere.

There's rooms with a fireplace.

- [Person 3] There's just little nooks and crannies all over.

- [Person 4] The decorations here literally looks like my apartment.

So I just love all the plants.

Little vintage, thrifted like charms that are here too.

- [Person 5] It's everybody's home, it's cozy.

It's just a loving environment.

- [Person 6] It's just a wonderful gem in Willmar.

- Then there's an upstairs.

Creaky old steps.

My friend, Cindy, owned this place and she had it up for sale.

And I was one of her regulars.

And I told my daughter about it and she said, "Mom, you have to own a coffee shop."

So, without knowing a thing about coffee, here I am.

I've owned LuLu Beans for close to 20 years now.

(all laughing) You act like you're happy to see her.

And let's say it with you guys.

- The biggest thing I can say about Lula Beans is that... We are a community, and we bring the community together.

And this community has turned itself into a family.

- Oh honey, they're right up there.

And then the couch is upstairs.

- And I just love being here.

I come and play Cribbage here pretty much every day at three o'clock.

- It's a very like, you know, personal-friendly environment.

I love getting to know all the regulars and getting to chat with them.

- I just love the vibe of this place.

There's no other coffee shop in town or surrounding areas like this.

(bright music) I feel like LuLu Beans is a place just to come to relax and meet new people and there's no judgment.

- A big part of what makes this place so popular or so inviting are the people that work here.

- Sometimes we're the best thing in somebody's day.

- I also love that my boss gives me the opportunity to display my work.

(quirky music) - Laure's very eager to support local artists.

So if you walk around LuLu Beans, you'll see lots of artwork.

A lot of it's photography.

- So this is Cat's work and this is Evelyn's work.

Both of them are employees of mine.

(energetic music) Why wouldn't you support an artist?

I always, especially if my employees are artistic, I really want them to get out of their shell and show their stuff.

- The owner, Laure, she just found out through some of the workers here who are my friends and have modeled for me for different projects and things.

Found out that I was a photographer and she wanted to showcase my work here.

- I make these little gnomes.

I make Christmas tree ornaments, those that are hanging in there.

A lot of my photography, this is one of the pictures.

It's a high dynamic resolution picture.

And I have a community wall.

So as an artist community, we're really grateful for Laure.

- These are all the other things that Dennis did.

- I think it's awesome to see people express themselves and have LuLu Beans feature all of these small town artists.

- I repurpose jewelry.

I take vintage, used, broken jewelry and remake it into something new.

And it's probably been about 12 years or so, I think.

Laure has displayed my stuff and she allows me to sell it here.

Which is cool because this is the only place I sell it.

- I think it's cool to be surrounded by art here, because you know, it helps strike conversations about art and it's also like good advertisement for the people that are like local artists, which is really cool as well.

- I've got Darcy's art here, her jewelry.

If you look over here, I also have someone that used to run our open mics.

And they do soaps, origami, and some moisturizers.

I also have a local potter.

It's very cool.

- The art I have on display here.

I really like to like keep it rotating out.

So like with all my most current stuff.

Yeah, and I'd like to just fill as many rooms with art as Laure will let me.

Whenever I'm really excited about a piece, I know I wanna like move it here next.

I think it's really important for artists to like have an opportunity to display their work.

And I love that people can come see it and stuff.

- In this area, this is Bobbi's photography.

- I'm extremely passionate about mental health awareness, body positivity, and pretty much anything that is considered taboo in today's society.

And I just really wanted to show that throughout my work.

- Really cool.

She has some really edgy stuff and I like it.

- There isn't many places in my opinion where a variety of different artists of all different forms of art can showcase their work here as well as like advertise at the same time.

- I do wood lathing.

This is actually made from a Stinger baseball bat.

It's a little Christmas ornament.

She lets me have a little space here for my woodworking.

- Regular?

(upbeat music) - I really like Italian sodas.

It's kind of a kid drink.

And I also just love coffee!

(chuckles) - If I haven't already had a matcha, that's my go-to.

- [Bobbi] Their bakery goods are baked fresh every day.

- Oh gosh.

Kara what do you like about LuLu Beans?

- The cinnamon rolls.

- The cinnamon rolls!

- My favorite thing to eat here, definitely the breakfast croissants.

I usually work the morning shifts, so like that's kind of like my go-to.

- And then for food, I love our breakfast croissants.

- My favorite probably is the breakfast croissants.

- My favorite treat to order at LuLu Beans is the carrot cake muffin.

It's called a muffin, but it's actually like a carrot cake.

And it's filled with wonderful yumminess.

- I'm in love with the pumpkin bar.

I also love peppermint all-year round.

So I'll do like an ice cassidy with a pump of peppermint.

- Their panini sandwiches are great.

They have a breakfast burrito that's to die for.

I like their kicking chicken sandwich.

- This one is my first time trying it.

- Oh, good!

- Normally, I get the kicking chicken but this one is delicious.

- Oh, you went out on a limb.

- Right.

(bright music) People come here to study.

People come here to plan a funeral.

People come here to have a bridal shower.

We've had baby reveals.

- So we started a tradition when they were super little.

Do you remember the first time you got to come?

- Not really.

- No.

We've shared every birthday here since they were in kindergarten!

So each morning before one of their birthdays, they both share January birthdays.

So we would actually end up here every 24th of January and then again on the 29th.

'Cause they couldn't share the same birthday, gosh forbid.

You know, we had to come two different times.

And so we would come before school and they would get to get a giant cinnamon roll.

But we just loved it because they would sit in here and they would take pictures.

And Laure would sometimes surprise them with "Happy Birthday" songs.

And we've been doing it for over 10 years.

(soft music) - It's great for Willmar to have a place like this.

- I love so many of the regulars.

And you know, it makes it fun to even see them in other public places and stuff.

- What I like most about LuLu Beans?

My employees, 'cause I have a very good relationship with a lot of my employees.

And the customers, they make our day.

- You can just kind of relax.

It's fun to see people around that you see.

Every time you come in here, you see some of the same local people, which is kind of cool.

- Yesterday, just specifically someone was like, "Oh, your smile brightens my day."

And I think that kind of goes for everyone that walks in.

We all kind of brighten each other's days with our smile.

- That's what pulls everybody together.

I always wanna stay, so that this is a safe place for everybody.

And nobody feels like they can't be here.

And I really do feel like that's what it is.

(soft music) (bright music) - [Presenter] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

(bright music)