Mike Hoelzl went to college to play basketball and study business. After a semester, he decided he could learn more about business by working in one.
The business Mike joined was Midwest Espresso, a Milwaukee coffee retailer that his father, Max, had started in 1992. Off and on since he was 15, including summers during college, Mike worked at Midwest Espresso.
“I got a sense of what it takes to run a business,” Mike said, “the licensing, the city health department, vendors, customer service.”
Mike graduated from college with degrees in education and psychology and ambitions of coaching basketball. He was an assistant coach at Rockford College, Lake Forest College and New Berlin Eisenhower High School. All along, he kept helping out with the coffee business.
Mike worked in promotions and sales for a beer distributor for a while. He also tended bar. Each job sharpened his communications skills, his ability to listen and relate to other people. But he kept returning to his customers at Midwest Espresso – including executives at Landaas & Company.
As Max Hoelzl closed his last Midwest Espresso stand in the summer of 2012, Landaas & Company opened the door to Mike.
“I’m looking forward to meeting customers and keeping in touch with them on a much different level than down in the coffee shop,” Mike said. “This is about helping to set people up to enjoy the rest of their lives. This is like going back to school but with much better teachers.”
Mike is a graduate of West Allis Central High School and Rockford College. He lives in Glendale with his wife, Cassie, and their son, daughter and dog.