Rising costs, fewer international visitors lead to challenging year for Java Moose
The downtown coffee shop Java Moose reports that sales are down year over year in 2025, and the business will likely take a loss this year. Economic factors, including rising expenses and a decline in international visitors, have impacted the store’s finances.
The post-COVID economy has presented ongoing challenges for small businesses nationwide, including supply chain disruptions, inflation, and other hurdles. These factors have created a difficult environment for local business owners.
“It started with COVID in some ways, and it has just actually continued,” Sarah Jorgenson-Hallberg told WTIP. “Your sales might be similar year to year, but our expenses have increased so much that there’s just some times where you just can’t even believe what you’re paying for a service, or goods, or insurance.”
The issue isn’t specific to Java Moose. Businesses that rely on supply chains can feel the ripple effects of problems that start with the suppliers themselves.
“It’s a number of things, because whatever business you’re purchasing from is also experiencing all of those expenses. So that’s going to get passed on, you know, down the line, and eventually it gets passed on to the consumer,” Jorgenson-Hallberg said.
One issue specific to Cook County is its reliance on Canadian tourism. According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadian residents returning from road trips to the United States was 33.1% lower in June 2025 compared to the previous year.
“That is a big part of our business. About 25 percent of our business are Canadians, because they’re right along 61, and through my social media, many of the residents of Thunder Bay know my love for Canada, and so they’re very loyal to us,” Jorgenson-Hallberg said.
Despite the challenges, the family-owned business isn’t planning to go anywhere.
“We have 30 years under our belt. We will still be here, because I’m very stubborn.” Jorgenson-Hallberg said.
If other businesses face similar challenges, Jorgenson-Hallberg wants them to reach out and lean into the small business community in Cook County.
“I think that, like from a small business perspective, you’re always waiting for the next shoe to drop now,” Jogenson-Hallberge said. “I mean, you were always putting out small fires, right? You’d have equipment that would malfunction, you’d have employees that would maybe be ill, or just those types of needs. And now you’re bombarded every day with all of those things that already are going to happen, and the cost of tomatoes and the quality of a product coming in, and your insurance going up, you know. So there’s just so many expenses now on a small business that it is hard. It’s hard to sometimes feel like you’re going to stay afloat.”
Sarah Jorgenson-Hallberg spoke with WTIP’s Josh Hinke about the early days of Java Moose, her social media presence, and Cook County’s busy summers. The audio of that conversation is below.
Josh Hinke July 25, 2025
