Mark and Paula Radl

Mark and his wife Paula are longtime residents of Manitowoc, where Mark works for a nursing home equipment supplier and Paula is an art teacher. The Radls love coffee; when their friend—who sells honey—suggested they sell their home-roasted coffee beans to friends and neighbors, the Radls decided to make it happen.

Wisconsin, however, stepped in the way. Unlike honey, which is one of Wisconsin’s few exempted homemade foods, roasted coffee beans cannot be sold in the state unless prepared under license and within a commercial kitchen. The Radls cannot afford that, so their coffee business is at a standstill.