It’s always wonderful when local businesses continue to grow and thrive in their communities. On Tuesday, January 24, Alison and Charles Scates, owners of FLUID Coffee Roasters, officially cut the ribbon on their newest café at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana in Valparaiso. Friends, family, and Ivy Tech students gathered to celebrate not just a passion for coffee, but a commitment to the community.
There used to be a café in Ivy Tech before, but it closed down in 2020. Word of mouth got around that students and faculty wanted a new café, and the Scates’ were up to the challenge.
“We were actually asked. Rob Thorgren suggested that we put a FLUID in here, so we met with the chancellor, and we hit it off. He’s pretty high energy like we are, so it really was a good fit for us both,” said Charles Scates.
The new FLUID location had a soft opening last week, but today was its official opening. Everyone was beyond excited to open the doors to the community--people laughed and hugged and sipped on some delicious coffee. Tony Ramirez, the store’s manager who’s been working for FLUID for six years, was thrilled to see how much the Ivy Tech community loves FLUID.
“It’s already exceeding our hopes. We thought it would be a bit slower with pockets of business, but it’s been busy non-stop. It feels like any other FLUID. We’ve started to get some regulars, and I just hope we can continue to grow,” said Ramirez.
The new café is the fifth FLUID location in Northwest Indiana and the third location in Valparaiso. It’s already become special to the Scates’, and they can’t wait to continue working with Ivy Tech and serving its students and faculty.
“I hope to stay here for years. I love this school – Ivy Tech does so many nice things for the community. They offer a quality, low-cost education and it’s a community college, so there are people of all ages. It’s wonderful. We’d like to pair with Ivy Tech for years to come and continue to provide services to the students and faculty,” said Alison Scates.
FLUID’s success certainly won’t end here. The Scates’ have hopes to keep on growing and spreading their love of specialty coffee throughout the Region.
“We’re just very driven people. We of course want to expand, but we also want to leave something for our kids. We want to provide for ourselves as independent business owners and as entrepreneurs, but we really want to provide a future for them as well,” said Charles Scates.
The Scates’ are thankful to everyone who helped make this accomplishment possible. It couldn’t have been done without so much love and support.
“I would like to thank Rob Thorgren – he was integral in getting us here. I also want to thank the Chancellor, Aco Sikoski, for welcoming us. Most importantly, I’d like to thank all of our crew for working so hard to get this new location open,” said Alison Scates.
Go check out Ivy Tech’s newest addition. FLUID’s unique atmosphere, friendly staff, and mouth-watering drinks are not to be missed. The FLUID team is proud to be part of such a wonderful, connected community.
“We live in Valpo, our daughter lives in Valpo, our son lives in Valpo, and this being our third cafe in Valpo is incredible. It’s just such a big deal to continue being a part of and serving this community because we love this town,” said Alison Scates.
To learn more about Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, visit ivytech.edu.
