Lawlss Coffee sits right next to Lawrence University, at most a minute’s walk from Colman Hall. Professors and students are often spotted there. I was able to sit down with the owner, Stephan Witchell, for an interview, and during my wait for him I was able to spot several students with their professors that morning. The high ceilings create a proscenium quality as the light seeps in ever so slightly, creating a feeling that could be described as minimalistic yet comforting.
The atmosphere is one of nostalgia for Witchell; he explains that Lawlss was a coffee shop since 1998, first under the name the Pilgrim’s Cafe, but was originally an electrical supply store. For Witchell, this space occupied his youth, as he recounts time spent in the Pilgrim’s Cafe before his departure to Starbucks. The jump from small, owned business to chain was a positive for Witchell. In his observations, he states “small coffee shops” foster “artistry,” while large chains such as Starbucks value efficiency in a way that made sense to Witchell.
However, clearly there is a beauty to the artistry of coffee that Witchell describes in detail, from the process of sourcing to roasting. During the conversation, he explains that there is chemistry within the making of coffee, as a Maillard reaction describes the effects of reducing sugars that react with amino acids.
The chemistry of coffee is as important as the branding and name of the coffee shop, so one wonders why Lawlss has no “e” and is instead “lss,”rather than “less.” Witchell explains, “The inspiration for the name came from the feeling I had when I first left the cafe I started. The name sort of represents that feeling, something of that moment — a bit unconventional and a little counterculture.”
For Witchell, the Lawrence community in Appleton is something that is always present. He runs two other locations in Neenah and Door County, Wis. One would presume that he comes into his business with an air of gravitas, though he appears nonchalant at first. In conversation, Witchell explains he hopes to mediate between the two. As I sit across from him, he is humble, soft-spoken, worried and consumed by care for his business. Witchell states, “I want to see it with a bit more levity — but for me it’s pretty heavy because it’s really personal.”
Witchell focuses on finding joy within Lawlss despite the anxiety he describes to me coming from running three locations. This seems to dissipate throughout the conversation, as I learn which drinks students prefer, from an americano to a cortado and a macchiato.
During the 2024 presidential election, Witchell had Lawlss offer free drinks for voters, citing the importance of community and the fact that he sees Lawlss as “a space, a feeling for people.” For him, the hope was to encourage customers to be active in thought and voting.
Lawlss is unique in how its space is occupied: it is full of a myriad of people that Witchell meets from day to day. When he has leisure time, Witchell spends it reading philosophers’ work, from Jean-Paul Sarte to Friedrich Nietzsche, or playing games with his nephew. The subjects of the personal, philosophy, chemistry and literature are “pretty aligned with coffee making,” he says.
Do coffee shops probe thinking and studying, and do Lawrence students take the spaces downtown for granted? For many it seems that Lawlss is a space for nourishment and conversation, one that is close in proximity, not attended for just convenience, but also for artistry and thought. For a Lawrence student, it is a place to ruminate.