Pavillion gains amenity with locally sourced coffee shop and eatery

PAVILLION, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) -

In a town with only about 200 people, every amenity lost and gained is a big deal, and this town in Fremont county is happy to have a new amenity with multiple purposes come to town.

The town of Pavillion doesn’t have a grocery store and before this they didn’t have a place to sit down for a coffee or a meal either. Now they do, and it’s also for a good cause to benefit the community.

Patti Hessling, Co-Owner of Paskel’s Place and Rockabilly Coffee stated, “People just kept coming in and saying do you have food, do you please have food? We’re like, well, we’re trying to get there.”

They went through the processes to start serving food, but that wasn’t the original inspiration for this historic 1920′s building and former bar.

Hessling said their inspiration for opening and restoring the location was “A safe place for people to go to, especially kids, and to be able to offer events and places for kids, youth group, church groups, and just a safe place for people to hang out and have a place to go in Pavillion. That was our original idea, coffee just kind of unfolded out of it.”

It turns out the food and drinks are only half of what makes Paskel’s Place the place to be. “It’s just been a really awesome way to get involved in the community and provide a needed service, but it’s a fun place to hang out too,” explained Shanna Choate, who volunteers at the shop.

Being a nonprofit in a small town it was difficult to find employees to take care of the coffee and food side of things. Shanna recently moved from Illinois under a missions organization and now volunteers as a barista and cook.

“Coffee is kind of my husband and my hobby, so I immediately perked up and God had really given us a heart for this community,” noted Choate. When asked why her family’s mission time wasn’t spent overseas, she said that everyone needs to feel loved and know they are important, no matter where they are.

She serves in the kitchen so the owners can focus more on youth groups and Bible studies, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the school-age kids.

Hessling said that although it was difficult starting up the café portion during Covid, “People have been very supportive and kind, people are showing up and trying to help us out. They’re very very grateful to have a place that families can go, so that’s kind of our inspiration.”

The coffee shop’s hopes for the future are to expand their hours, host farmer’s markets, country dances, and anything that is a positive outlet for the community.

Currently they are closed Sundays and Mondays. They open from 7 to 7 on Tuesday and Thursdays. Wednesday and Friday the shop opens at 7 a.m. and they plan on staying open for the lunch hour. When an event is in town, they will be open on Saturdays, otherwise Saturday hours depend on staffing.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is a program for youth on Monday night, Fellowship is on Tuesday night, and Bible study is on Thursday night,

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