Ella McEntaffer
Baristas work behind the counter beneath a neon “Good Vibes Only” sign.
Sisters Krystal Nielsen and Kari Haugse opened Good Vibes Cafe in October of 2018, and the shop has been a Solon staple ever since. Both Nielsen and Haugse are Solon natives and were looking for a way to give back to their community.
“There was no other coffee shop in town,” Krystal Nielsen said. “The town was growing, there were going to be 500 new homes filled within the next five years, and my sister and I had always talked about doing something together.”
Nielsen said that there are several entrepreneurs in her family, so the transition to business owner was natural for her and Haugse.
“We just went for it and here we are, seven years later already,” Nielsen said.
As far as fall flavors and menu items go, Good Vibes Cafe is different from most other coffee shops, because they carry their fall seasonal items all year long.
“Some people just like what they like, and they don’t want it just in the fall,” Nielsen said. “They want it all year, and I’m happy to oblige to that request.”
Nielsen says that the basic Good Vibes menu stays pretty consistent, but that staff is always tracking current trends and also spends lots of time experimenting with different flavors and ideas.
“Sometimes customers will have ideas or my employees will have fun mixing different things together and it’ll be a hit,” Nielsen said. “So that’s really how we come up with stuff, is just trial and error with our syrups, what sounds good together.”
The Cafe carries over 30 different varieties of syrup flavorings in house, which offers customers the chance to customize their order however they feel, and baristas at Good Vibes Cafe are always ready to help customers out creating their perfect order.
“For fall specifically, we can do basically anything with pumpkin,” Nielsen said. “We have really yummy pumpkin sauce, pumpkin pie sauce that we use and we’ll mix with different other syrups, white pumpkin mocha, a white chocolate pumpkin flavor, or pumpkin cream cold brews.”
Nielsen and staff will also get fresh apple cider from Wilson’s Orchard and incorporate that into menu items to create caramel apple ciders and other festive drinks. Oatmeal cookie and chai flavors are also very popular in the fall. Besides fun drinks, the cafe also has a great selection of breakfast items, such as burritos and sandwiches.
“We actually crack real eggs here, unlike a lot of shops that use a frozen egg patty,” Nielsen said. “We use these real eggs and make homemade scrambled eggs and put them on our sandwiches and in our breakfast burritos. So I think that’s what makes us stand out from other places’ breakfast items, we assemble everything fresh.”
As far as customers go at Good Vibes Cafe, Nielsen said that the clientele is a mix between regulars and out-of-town visitors.
“Of course we have a lot of locals that come in that we get to know over the years,” she said. “But we also have regulars from Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Mount Vernon and Lisbon.” Although the cafe is always buzzing with guests, Nielsen and her staff also have busy seasons throughout the year.
“Summer is always really busy because of the bike trail and people going out to the park,” she said. “But probably our busiest season is fall through Christmas. When the weather gets a little cooler, people are moving about, they’re wanting to get out and get their pumpkin stuff and their apple stuff.”
For those new to the cafe and wondering what the best menu item to order is, Nielsen recommends a West Main Latte, which is named for the street that the cafe calls home. The menu and drink flavors are fully customizable, with Nielsen saying that her staff is able to create the perfect flavor combination for every guest, whether they want an intricate pumpkin creation or a simple and classic coffee.
“We’re really good at answering people’s questions to try to gauge what we think they would enjoy the most,” Nielsen said.
Good Vibes Café
121 W. Main St. Unit 104, Solon
319-624-8423
www.facebook.com/goodvibescoffeecafe