For more than two decades, Special Education teacher Julie Hunter has been teaching at St. Charles High School as well as working in the warm, community centered atmosphere of the Crooked Tree, the coffee shop she opened with her husband back in 2002.
Hunters says that the idea began with her husband who was a restaurant manager at the time and he wanted to step away from the corporate world and run something of his own.
“He was really ready to be his own boss,” she said. So they took a leap of faith and “stepped out on a limb” and opened the Crooked Tree. Now 23 years later, the cafe has become a St. Charles staple.
Balancing a full-time teacher career with running a small business hasn’t been easy.
“Owning a business takes a lot of time and energy,” she said. But she credits her husband and daughter who serve as the cafe’s primary managers, for making it possible. This allows her to focus more on her teaching job and the students, while she is contributing to the family business behind the scenes.
Even so, her worlds overlap more than people might realize. Especially when it comes to having soft skills and being able to work with people, to hiring managing staff, communication with customers and problem solving at the cafe.
The Crooked Tree has also built a strong relationship with St. Charles High School itself. Over the years, the Hunters have hired many students from school; this helps the school and the community grow as one because of the relationships being built. Today the cafe employs multiple recent SCHS graduates and even one current student, Penelope Stone, has worked there.
“They’re an essential part of our staff,” Hunter said. “They help Crooked Tree move forward.”
According to Stone, working at the Crooked Tree was “pretty good, the co-workers were really nice and there were a lot of nice people and it’s usually pretty quiet because everyone was studying and making drinks is fun.”
The Cafe has made such a big impact in the school and community. Hunter recalled a couple who met at the Crooked Tree and later married there, one of the many reminders of how the business has grown beyond just a place to buy coffee. It is a place where people can go to find connections and make friends and maybe find a loved one.
“It feels really great to know we are part of the community and serving St. Charles citizens,” she said.
Many students have been to the Crooked Tree. “The Crooked Tree was actually a fun experience because I went there because two of my friends were working there and I told them to surprise with whatever they thought I would like the most and they gave this mango peach smoothie and a sandwich,” sophomore Izzy Lewis said, “and I would love to go back and try a new drink.”
Despite the stress that comes with running a business, Hunter says the rewards both expected and unexpected keep her motivated. The Crooked Tree has become a part of her culture and family and also plays a large part in the community and it’s just something she can’t imagine letting go of. At the same time she continues to love teaching high school everyday and finding a balance between the two worlds. The Crooked tree has become a meaningful connection to the community and her family and also to the students of St. Charles High School.
“It’s a pleasure to do both,” she said.
