Fremont drive-in coffee shop raises money for local library by selling used books

FREMONT, Neb. (KOLN) - A drive-in coffee shop in Fremont that sells used books has raised $100,000 for the local library over the last eight years.

“We raise money for the local library as people come in and donate 50 cents for a paperback, a dollar for a hardcover, and the money goes back to support programming at the local library here in town,” business owner Jeff Rise said.

Puzzles and board games are available for a $1 donation, Rise said. That money supports the Fremont Public School Foundation.

Rise said he started hauling books for the Friends of the Library around 2016 or 2017. The books were taken to a warehouse across town and stored all year before a one-time sale held over a weekend.

“And that was the big fundraiser for the library once a year,” Rise said. “I thought, why don’t we show these books off year-round?”

Rise said he looked for a place downtown to display the books but could not find one. He then built shelves on the south wall of his liquor store.

Rise said the building had been a liquor store for 60 years. His father and grandfather built it in 1967, and he bought it about 30 years ago.

“Just last year, we closed up the liquor store, and spent about a year remodeling,” Rise said. “And now we are just strictly coffee and books.”

“We decided that the coffee book combination is maybe a little better than the liquor and books,” Rise said. “And I was looking for a change. So after a lot of praying, we decided the coffee was the way to go.”

The shop works with Hill of Beans, a local roaster in Omaha. Customers can pull up to the drive-up window, order coffee and have it brought to their window, Rise said.

“Or we’ve got a nice seating area where you can go and sit down and enjoy and read books,” Rise said.

The book sales began in 2018 and have continued for about eight years, Rise said.

“We thought maybe if we’d raise a couple hundred dollars a month, we’d be working out pretty good,” Rise said. “All of a sudden, we started raising about $1,000 a month.”

Rise said the total reached $100,000 last month after about 8 years of selling the used books.

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