Kelsey Koch had reason to smile after wrapping up her first day as owner of Sacred Groundz Coffee in the morning on Aug. 26 in Warrenton.

The Jonesburg resident peeked at her register to find out how much she made for the day. She made $349.75 after four hours of work.

“Today was probably the most fun I had working in a while,” Koch said. “It’s been amazing.”

Now, Koch hopes to have more successful days as the new Sacred Groundz Coffee owner. She bought the coffee truck business from Bill Fankhauser in March.

“I always loved coffee,” Koch said. “When I got the opportunity to have a truck, it was like a dream come true. It was pretty amazing. Then being able to spread God’s word as well was even better and even more amazing.”

Koch operated her first day at the parking lot of Imo’s Pizza, where she also works. Her business ran from 5:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

“In a few short hours, it’s been awesome,” Koch said. “The community has been amazing.”

The 22-year-old Koch said she had to get permission from her boss at Imo’s to work at the parking lot.

“I told him about my new adventure and they offered me the parking lot until 9:30-10,” she said. “They had no problem.”

Koch graduated from Montgomery County High School in 2021. She later earned a business degree at East Central Community College.

Koch said being an owner of a coffee business was definitely not one of her goals when she graduated from college.

“I didn’t expect this at 22,” Koch said. “I thought I would be slinging pizzas forever.”

Sacred Groundz was established in 2019 to give people with mental disabilities an opportunity to not only get a good job, but learn about the coffee business. For years, the truck made many stops around Missouri, including Grow2Gather in New Florence.

Koch said she worked with Fankhauser at the Sacred Groundz truck for several months before she decided to take over the business. Fankhauser retired after the end of last year.

“He asked if I wanted the truck,” Koch said. “I said, ‘Why not? Let’s see what this path takes me.’ So I decided to go for it.”

Koch and her Sacred Groundz truck made appearances at Jonesburg Elementary School on Aug. 13 and MCHS nine days later. She said she enjoyed her time visiting MCHS.

“It was awesome being able to go back to my high school and serve the teachers who taught me,” Koch said. “I created a great bond with most of them, so it was really awesome to be able to go back and give them a little bit of appreciation. They deserve it. They worked so hard for all of the kids.”

Koch got plenty of help from her family members. She worked with her mother during her visit at JBE. She worked with her father at MCHS and one of her cousins on her first day.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my family and friends and everybody who supported me,” Koch said. “I don’t think this truck would happen if I didn’t have all of them, that’s for sure.”

The Sacred Groundz menu includes coffee, muffins, tea, lemonade and hot chocolate. Koch said she added an energy drink called God’s Speed, which has four different flavors and has Sprite in it.

“It’s my dad’s favorite so far,” Koch said. “He said it tasted like one of the Sonic energy drinks. He loves it. (On the first day) He came by just to get himself an energy drink and left me.”

Koch said she is still working on a schedule for her business. She will continue to serve the customers at the Imo’s parking lot.

“I’m trying to work out the kinks and figure out what days work best for me and go from there,” Koch said.

Koch has already set big goals for the future.

“I would like maybe in the next five years to have my own shop, then keep the truck for events,” she said. “I’ll just create that comforting spot for people who hang out, come get their coffee and make it feel like a family place.”