Pe Ell’s Jacked Up Coffee Stand Owner Member of ‘Big Coffee Family’

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PE ELL — Whitney Adolphsen has been hanging out in coffee stands since before she could talk or walk. It runs in the family. So it only made sense that one day she’d open her own stand.

She would go to work with her mom as a baby at the now-closed One Moore Cup in Raymond. Now both of Adolphsen’s parents own coffee stands, her dad in Castle Rock and her mom in Raymond, for the last 19 years. She started working at her mom’s shop, The Daily Perk, officially when she was 16 years old.

“Big coffee family,” Adolphsen said. “Both of my sisters worked in it at one point or another, too. I was that kid that grew up in the coffee shop, hanging out with my mom down there. I’m probably the only 30-year-old with 20-plus years experience working in a coffee shop.”

That’s why when she decided to open Jacked Up in 2018 she chose to base it in Pe Ell — the halfway point between her parents. 

Adolphsen grew up in Old Willapa and went to Willapa Valley and South Bend high schools, but she did have some history with Pe Ell. A star softball player growing up, she became a Trojan for one year during high school because Valley didn’t have a softball program at the time.

That made the transition to the community a little easier. The biggest change was going from longtime employee to business owner. She was commuting from Lebam when she first opened her shop and was late one day rushing down state Route 6 toward the stand in Pe Ell, worried about being late to open.

“Then it hit me halfway, ‘Well, I’m not going to get in trouble,’” Adolphsen said. “‘The worst thing that’s going to happen is I’m going to lose a little bit of money. It’s OK.’”

Now she’s been able to relish the independence of being a business owner.

“I have a lot more pride in my work now that it’s my own,” Adolphsen said. “That, and getting to set up shop in a whole new area and getting to meet everybody here. That’s been cool, too.”



It’s that community that stood behind her shop once the COVID-19 pandemic hit in mid-March, shutting down non-essential businesses and delivering blows to the economy. The pandemic temporarily dried up her customers and left her wondering the fate of her stand.

“Eerie,” Adolphsen said. “It was really eerie.”

There was a two-week standstill where customers trickled in at a snail’s pace. Adolphsen panicked and laid off all her employees for that first week. She, along with every other human on earth, was unsure what to expect. She wanted to gauge the level of customers coming in and make sure she’d be able to pay the bills.

Then, all the sudden, business went back to normal. At the same time, Jacked Up tried to be a  beacon of normalcy in its customer’s lives as the rest of the world was filled with uncertainty.

“It’s been an interesting thing to live through and work through down here,” Adolphsen said. “I’m just really grateful we didn’t get shut down.”

Luckily, Jacked Up was already following most of the health department guidelines beforehand. It did step up its cleaning and started sanitizing the clipboard each time it went through the window.

Now, her employees are working more hours than ever before. The Pe Ell community has shown its support more than ever, Adolphsen said. One organization included Jacked Up in a scavenger hunt, people were buying gift cards, others dropped by just to check on Adolphsen and her employees. 

Customers who would normally show up once a month were suddenly coming in a couple times a week. Part of it was also people searching for social interaction. There was a month stretch where it was difficult to close at a regular time because customers were dropping by to chat.

“It’s another reason why I’m glad I set up shop in a small town,” Adolphsen said. “There was a huge outpouring of support and small-town camaraderie.”

Jacked Up, which uses Raven’s Brew Coffee from Alaska, is located at 404 N. Main St. in Pe Ell. The local favorite is currently open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 7 a.m to 4 p.m.

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Reporter Eric Trent can be reached at etrent@chronline.com. Visit chronline.com/business for more coverage of local businesses.