SETTLE IN & TAKE A SIP. Eau Claire's newest coffee shop, Grind n' Go (3192 London Rd.), was born from one heck of a pivot. Recent Blugold grad Cassandra Riehle didn't want to leave the city she'd fallen in love with during college, but her hunt for a right-fit job wasn't going well. So she took a leap – straight into entrepreneurship.

An axe-throwing venue, automotive repair shop, party supplies store and a Greek restaurant are just a sampling of the small businesses that call Eau Claire’s Olympic Plaza strip mall home. Now, locals will find a new coffee shop has joined the fray.

The space, last host to a bakery and now home to Grind n’ Go Coffee House (3192 London Rd., Eau Claire), has received a sweet and simple refresh. Olive green and cream colored paint serve as the backdrop to purposefully mismatched table-and-chair setups (most of which were thrifted) and a quaint book nook which welcomes patrons.

Owner Cassandra Riehle greets customers from behind the coffee shop counter. She’s swift to recommend coffee and beverage options, if you want some guidance – she’s a sucker for a specialty menu item herself, or a classic caramel latte.

I purchased the “Ghostly Marshmallow” – a toasted marshmallow and cinnamon latte topped with cold foam and cinnamon, decorated with a cute marshmallow fluff ghost – off the autumnal specials menu.

Then she and I chatted, Cassandra detailing her pivot-after-pivot journey to opening Grind n’ Go this September.

People smile at the decorations or presentation of the drinks – especially the ghost one – and (I love) seeing people come in and leave with their coffee seeming happy. –Cassandra Riehle, owner of Grind n' Go Coffee House

The "Ghostly Marshmallow" at Grind n' Go, one of the shop's fall specialty menu items.

Cassandra Riehle, pictured, operates Grind n' Go as a one-woman show.

“Post graduation, I thought I’d get a traditional job in finance,” Cassandra, a Spring 2026 UW-Eau Claire graduate, told me.

A finance major, Cassandra was president of the Blugold finance club and interned at the Small Business Development Center while working a waitress gig downtown for cash. She leveraged those connections and networked with a number of local businesses in search of a post-grad job.

After a stint in wealth management proved not to be the best fit, Cassandra wasn't willing to leave Eau Claire just for another job – she’d fallen in love with her college town, after moving to the Chippewa Valley from the Wausau area.

Her story is not dissimilar to other recent college grads who are finding themselves entering the workforce at a particularly tough moment for the national economy.

One year ago, Cassandra couldn’t have predicted her new reality. Graduating debt free with a finance degree, just to pivot into entrepreneurship and open a biz in the food and beverage industry months later? That’s a heck of a pivot – and one she plans to keep pouring into.

Cassandra told me she admired her parents’ strategic approach to finances – they operated a family-owned dairy; she described them as “frugal” and incredibly hardworking, traits that informed her decision to study finance – though they were hesitant of her decision to launch a business.

“I didn’t want to accept (another job) just to accept it,” she said. “So, yes, I could have gotten a retail job or went back to waitressing, but I didn’t just go to school for four years and get a finance degree to do that.

“So, I created financial projections to see what it could take to be sustainable, starting up a coffee shop.”

Hunting for a space to lease, sampling potential coffee bean and syrups distributors, getting thrifty with her decor purchases – and even a last-minute plumbing issue that pushed back her opening date – led to Grind n’ Go’s opening this September.

All seating at Grind n' Go is purposefully mismatched, a cost-effective touch of whimsy (owner Cassandra Riehel sourced them secondhand).

Grind n' Go is collaborating with another new business, Chippewa Falls' Crust & Crumb Baking Co., for its baked goods.

She became a true coffee head in college, rarely studying without a boost of espresso. At her own shop, whether you sip on the “Heath Caramel” or “Campfire” specialty drinks, go-to latte, or snag a mug for self-serve black coffee ($4 for unlimited refills!), you’ll be enjoying Wisconsin-made brews.

Grind n’ Go is the only shop in Eau Claire using Wisconsin Dells-based Bella Goose Coffee beans and syrups.

“It’s so smooth, not too bitter, with notes like molasses where I could still taste the bean – I enjoy the espresso alone,” Cassandra told me, also noting the business’s holistic approach to their products.

“Their syrups aren’t too sugary and use all whole ingredients.”

The latter is something that shines through Grind n’ Go’s espresso beverages – they still taste like coffee (not necessarily a given these days). Cassandra also serves bubbly Lotus energy drinks, a customizable alternative to traditional coffee.

“I’ve had so much positive feedback so far,” Cassandra said, though she hopes to see business pick up as people discover the newly-opened shop.

“People smile at the decorations or presentation of the drinks – especially the ghost one – and (I love) seeing people come in and leave with their coffee seeming happy.”

Owner Cassandra Riehle's sister, who studied marketing in school, created the coffee shop's logo.

One year ago, Cassandra couldn’t have predicted her new reality. Graduating debt free with a finance degree, just to pivot into entrepreneurship and open a biz in the food and beverage industry months later? That’s a heck of a pivot – and one she plans to keep pouring into.

Swing by Grind n' Go any day of week for a sweet space to read or study, or to get your caffeine kick in before moving through the rest of your day.

Grind n' Go Coffee House (3192 London Rd., Eau Claire) is currently open 7am-Noon, Monday-Friday; 7am-5pm on Saturday; 8am-3pm on Sunday • Want to host a study group at the shop or have questions? Reach out at (715) 212-0349 • Keep up with Grind n' Go on Facebook