Herman's Boy has it all.
From coffee and tea to sandwiches, smoked meat, pastries and more! However, no matter what changes on the menu, Herman's Boy will always have a commitment to the same traditions it's carried for more than a century.
Jeff Havemeier is the president and part-owner of the Rockford staple. The now-familiar brand went through quite an evolution before becoming the household name it is today.
“We started basically with nothing," he told FOX 17. "My dad had an idea to sell cheese and sausage from Minnesota — we're from Minnesota."
Havemeier's father, Floyd, set up shop near the corner of Courtland St. and Main St. in downtown Rockford. At that time, he called his business The Melting Pot.
That was in 1979.
After a year, Floyd began buying coffee from a spot in downtown Grand Rapids called The Coffee Ranch.
“In 1981, we got a call from an owner who had sold it to some young guys that were having difficulty with a business," Havemeier explained. "If we could come up with the money of what they owed, we could get these assets, this equipment, the recipes, and the name 'The Coffee Ranch.' We were only two years in, and the money was tight, but my dad knew that was something we should do.”
Since The Coffee Ranch was founded in 1901, that move made The Melting Pot the oldest specialty roaster in the Midwest.
Some of the coffee blends on their menu still have their original recipes from all those years ago.
In the '90s, a popular American restaurant chain, with the exact same name, decided to do business in Michigan for the first time.
Floyd was forced to make a change, which became a blessing in disguise.
“Herman was my grandfather. He had nothing to do with the business," Havemeier said. "My dad was from a small town much like Rockford. When he would get in trouble in Minnesota, (the neighbors) would say, 'Who did that?' (The response) would be, 'Well, Herman's Boy did it.'”
The name stuck. In fact, the business logo is a cartoon version of Floyd himself.
That transformation took them to a new level, and in 2006, a new location.
“Probably the funniest story is, when we were downtown, downtown Rockford was the place to be where supposedly everyone went," Havemeier said. "(Floyd) got this vision of moving to this farmhouse and building a store outside of downtown and everyone thought he was nuts.”
Havemeier added, "We were worried. We had meetings, like, 'How are we going to draw people here? What are we gonna do?' We actually had a blessing of the building and the business. We always joke — the pastor said 'Amen,' and people poured in.”
Those prayers were clearly answered.
The parking lot of their only location on Northland Dr. is packed on any given day.
“There's a few people that are here five days a week," Havemeier said. "I always joke, when I see them on a Saturday or Sunday, that, 'You're not going to take the weekend off?' Couldn't be more appreciative of that.”
Few places can say they house a 123-year-old company, keeping the Herman's Boy allure alive for generations.
Still, no matter how popular this place gets, Herman's Boy will never lose its local identity.
“My dad came up with a slogan: One Location Worldwide," Havemeier said. "So, you want to come to Herman's Boy? You gotta come to Rockford.”