Wired Cafe in downtown Rockford sold ‘from the hands of one family to another’

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — For more than 13 years, Crystal Douglas’ customers at Wired Cafe have become familiar faces, friends and occasionally the name for an item on the menu.

Now, one of those customers — along with his business partners — is becoming the next owner.

Douglas has sold Wired Cafe, 414 E. State St. across from City Hall, to Eight Fifteen Capital, a local real estate investment firm that’s making its first foray into the service industry. The deal closed Saturday.

“The Wired family is growing, and it’s changing from the hands of one family to another: the Douglas family to the Eight Fifteen Capital family,” said Matthew Simpson, a longtime customer who now owns the space with his investment firm. “What we want to honor is the legacy that has been built here for 13 years.”

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Douglas has run the cafe and bistro since 2010, primarily with her daughters Maggie Douglas and Shanna Douglas Hill, although nearly every family member has worked there. She said they loved running the cafe but were growing tired of the difficult grind – no pun intended – of running a business.

Eight Fifteen Capital is run by Simpson, Terrance Hall, Clydale Hilson, Jaron Hite and Joshua Patterson. Its primary focus until now has been on residential real estate, events and collaborations. Douglas said the new owners shared a similar sense of community and family.

“I trust them. I’m excited to see where they take Wired,” Douglas said. “I think it’s the right team to move us forward.”

The downtown cafe was also often a space for Simpson to work outside of the office over a black coffee and a scone, and he struck up a friendship with Douglas. Simpson was the first person Douglas confided in that she was considering selling Wired, and Simpson brought that to the rest of his partners with Eight Fifteen Capital.

Hall was the first to suggest that their company should consider buying the business.

“The name Wired means something to this community,” Hall said. “I know how much this means to the community and how much they’ve put into it. The name is synonymous with quality.”

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Wired also had a double meaning in Hall’s eyes. It both represents the feeling of being energized by caffeine and the idea of wires serving as a means of connection.

“What better way to bring people together than coffee,” he said. “All of those things were very in line with our company values already.”

On Saturday, members of the Douglas family and the families of Eight Fifteen Capital gathered inside Wired to celebrate the closing of the deal.

For the next month, you’ll still see the Douglas family at Wired as they help Eight Fifteen Capital transition. A send-off party for the family will be held Feb. 3 at the cafe. Eight Fifteen Capital is also hiring for two positions.

Starting today, Patterson, who was previously director of programs for Comprehensive Community Solutions, will serve as the cafe’s general manager. He said they don’t plan any major changes at first.

“We want to come in and learn what makes it special, and then try to figure out where might be some of the opportunities to grow it,” Patterson said.

The shop could serve as small gathering and event space after normal operating hours, which are from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We see coffee as the catalyst,” Patterson said. “Activating spaces is something that we have a track record and an ability to do. So how can we activate the space and make sure that more people can access it and build connections across our community through coffee.”

Douglas said they’ll miss the connections and friends they’ve made, and the ones they’ve seen customers make, such as when a first date at the coffee shop turns into a family years down the road.

The menu sandwiches and wraps served at the shop were often named after regular customers, such as The Marko, Xen’s PB&J, The Tim, The Troy and The Kevin Haas.

“I think that’s a great tradition,” Patterson said. “That’s the beautiful thing for me coming in, seeing Maggie, Crystal and Shanna know customers names. I think that’s one of the things that makes it special and differentiates it from, maybe, other coffee shops. That’s a part of the secret sauce.”

About | Wired Cafe

Where: 414 E. State St., Rockford

Hours: 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Farewell celebration: A farewell celebration for the Douglas family will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3

On social: @wiredcaferockford on Facebook; @wiredcaferkfd on Instagram; @WiredCaferkfd on X

Hiring: Wired Cafe is hiring a barista and crew member. See the job postings on Indeed.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas