{image1}It's Tuesday afternoon and Mequon's newest hotspot Café Forté is bustling with those anxious to sample some of its delicious coffee blends, to meet with friends and to experience what the well-deserved fuss is all about.
Behind this successful new coffee house are owners and coffee veterans Fred and Betty Rubner. The driving force behind many of Milwaukee's Gloria Jean's franchises, the Rubners have dedicated themselves to great coffee and customer service as well as making a home away from home for those seeking everything from a light lunch to any one of their many "Forté" beverages.
The idea for Café Forté began many years ago, during long drives to their coffee shops and unfulfilled dreams of having a place entirely their own. Then, three years ago, after losing their daughter, the Rubners decided to make a change.
"It was hard for us to put ourselves into it the way we had done all those years, and we sort of had a reprieve from it" Betty Rubner says. "It took us three years to gather the strength to move on, and it seemed only appropriate that it would be in our community where people have embraced us. What was given to us was a sense of peace and comfort and that's what we hoped to give back to people."
A much larger space than any of its local competitors, Café Forté is a coffee house, with an emphasis on house. Designed to resemble a home, it offers something for people of all ages. Large plush chairs face a fireplace, while Internet connections line the walls. In the back of the building there is a spacious conference room that anyone from non-profit organizations to small group of women gathering for their monthly knitting club can reserve.
{image2}Meanwhile, several feet away from the cream and sugar bar, a large TV with a video game system and VCR is set up for those who want to catch the news, watch a movie, and mothers attempting to keep their children occupied while they steal a few precious moments of peace.
"I think the whole concept, in 15 years, are just little dreams and little pockets of things that we always had" Rubner says. "It would have been great to have a place to take our four kids -- and I can't think of any place like that here, except maybe McDonalds."
An avid watercolorist, Betty Rubner had the idea to use the Forté walls as a space to display the work of local artists, many of whom she has worked with in her art classes. And with artists already lining up to display there work there, Café Forté should be a place to view quality works from up and coming artists for a long time to come.
In addition, the Rubners plan to host live music performances every Friday night, creating a safe environment for people to hang out and a venue for local musicians to showcase their talents.
Beyond the artwork, technologies and amenities of home, Café Forté has an honest dedication to customer service with quality products for customers to enjoy. Every morning, fresh sandwiches and salads are catered in through Robbie's Café and Marketplace (1424 W. Mequon Rd.) providing patrons with a healthy alternative to its otherwise delicious selection of pastries and biscotti. And the Rubners are always working to create an ever-changing selection of specialty coffee drinks that actually earn the right to be called "special."
"The presentation of the drink is the most important part of the experience." Fred Rubner says. "What people are finding is that for the cost of these specialty drinks, it better be special. And that's what we are trying to do."
Since its August 12 opening, the team at Café Forté has worked to provide a space for people to come and relax, artists to display their work, as well as a cathartic healing for a couple that has managed to turn one of their greatest hardships into a local inspiration.
Café Forté is located at 10530 N. Port Washington Rd. in Mequon.
