Kohler Co.'s new coffee shop has a name rooted in myth and menu inspired by Herbert V. Kohler Jr. and others

KOHLER — Kohler Company opened a new coffee shop south of its main building.

Foundry Cat Coffee Stop, 444 Highland Drive, Gate 2, offers a variety of coffee drinks and convenience items, like pressed juice, kombucha and baked goods. It’s across the street from The American Club and The Greenhouse, 419 Highland Drive.

The walk-up window shop is a converted brick security building. Its name comes from a myth about a cat that wandered the foundry, according to a news release. The cat in question was documented in an early 1920s photo, which is on display at the shop.

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Several menu items are inspired by Kohler Co. and the foundry, too. There is a nitro cold brew called “Mud Cat,” a nickname Herbert V. Kohler Jr., who passed away in 2022, earned in his early years from his work casting toilets in Kohler's Spartanburg, South Carolina, pottery, a news release said. There, he would get covered in liquid clay.

The Spartanburg pottery reduced operations last year, laying off 133 of about 300 employees, according to a news source, 7NEWS.

Another drink, an espresso tonic called “Tommy’s Slag,” is inspired by Tommy Wagner, who is one of the company’s longest-tenured employees and foundry supervisor. “Slag” is a material formed during the iron melting process. There is also a drip coffee with espresso called “Hot Metal.”

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Coffee and specialty drinks come in 12-ounce, 16-ounce and 20-ounce sizes. Prices range from $2 to $7.50. The shop also offers a box of coffee with cups, sugar and creamer for $25. Grab-and-go items range from $1 to $12.

Foundry Cat Coffee Shop is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Contact the shop at 920-459-1522 and foundrycat@kohler.com.

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Kohler Co. opens Foundry Cat Coffee Stop, Herbert Kohler inspires menu