TORRINGTON – Torrington’s newest coffee connoisseurs know all about the benefits of a warm beverage on a brisk morning.
Jimmy and Jody McKenzie moved to the area from Alaska in October last year. In late January, Cowboy Up Coffee opened for business.
“We have a business partner here – Greg Befus,” Jimmy said. “We thought we’d come down and try it out. It’s a nice town.”
“This is amazing,” Jody said of the mild-in-comparison Goshen County winter. “The 50-degree days have been incredible.”
While the McKenzies have not specifically owned a coffee shop before, the couple did have a bed and breakfast, among other ventures, in Alaska.
“We’ve worked a lot with the public,” Jimmy said. “Alaska’s cold, and we’d been there a long time. We thought we’d try a little experiment and see if this took off. There doesn’t seem to be many drive-through (coffee) huts here.”

“In Alaska, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a coffee hut,” Jody added. “We don’t do big cities – we like small towns.”
Determined to stay true to their new home, the McKenzies partnered with Snake River Roasting Company in Jackson for their coffee.
“It’s all organic coffee,” Jody said. “We drove all the way over there and visited their operation. We wanted to go with local Wyoming roasters. We did a lot of sampling.”
“What we did do here is stay very basic,” Jimmy said. “We have a very basic, good product. We just wanted to focus on that and make it excellent.”
Currently, Cowboy Up Coffee’s menu includes lattés, cappuccinos, mochas, Americanos, espresso, macchiatos, chai lattés, specialty teas, steamers, Red Bull, pastries and breakfast burritos.
“We’re looking forward to providing the public an opportunity to enjoy a new coffee culture – with very personable owners,” Jody said.
“We know hardworking people get up early, and they drink coffee,” Jimmy said.
In the future, the couple hopes to open a chain of their specialty coffee huts.
“We want to expand – creating revenue and jobs,” Jimmy said.
Cowboy Up Coffee, located at 2702 West C St., is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The McKenzies are looking to hire individuals for morning and afternoon shifts as they continue to put down roots in Goshen County.
“This is a good little hometown,” Jimmy said. “The people are good, they work hard, and you don’t visibly see drug or alcohol use or vandalism – it’s a lot better than I think the average person realizes.”