Have you been looking for a new café?
Maybe a new place to hang out with your friends?
Or even a new environment to get some schoolwork done?
If you said yes to any of those questions, then you should check out Elements, a local café and frozen yogurt shop that you can find within a three-minute drive and 13-minute walk from PHS.
Manager and owner Jackie Kaelin said that although it is still the same frozen yogurt place, they have made some changes.
“We took over about three years ago but elements was here prior to that as mostly fro-yo. When we took over, we remodeled a little bit, added the coffee and changed it up… I think it’s been eleven years now that’s it’s technically been in Puyallup but not run by us,” Kaelin said.
Elements is open six days a week, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. while being closed on Sundays.
Kaelin said that it has been a struggle to pick up the remodeling and renovation of the café ever since Covid hit.
“Our first year was really good when we took over and started changing things up, but then Covid happened,” Kaelin said. “It was pretty wonky for almost two years and now coming out of Covid we’re trying to do all the things we originally had planned for the vision of elements… now where back into getting the food going and expanding it to more café style not just fro-yo.”
Kaelin said that the community has been very supportive along with all the other local business owners, but even with that, it is still a difficult job.
“It’s taken a lot of my time, working in a business that you run and own, but it’s been great community wise, getting to know all of the business owners downtown and being involved in the community,” Kaelin said. “I think it’s actually been a good positive experience… you have to have the energy, time and focus to do it because it’s very demanding and time consuming but if you have the right staff and people behind you then you [can] grow and learn together.”
Kaelin said although they still serve frozen yogurt, they have expanded their menu to a more café style shop.
“Originally it was already fro-yo, so we had that on there and then we wanted to add some drinks, so we went with coffee…,” Kaelin said. “We chose to go with more heathy options for elements like with the organic coffee… we want to have more nutritious food options along with the drinks that were offering, we haven’t eliminated the fro-yo altogether because people really like and associate fro-yo with Elements.”
On their menu customers can find a variety of different things including organic coffee, fresh juice, tea, acai bowls, frozen yogurt, a plethora of pastries and many more items that can be found on their website.
Kaelin said that getting to know her costumers is a very special part of her job that she looks forward to.
“The interactions with the people in the town and the customers that come in, actually getting to know them as people, hearing their stories and what they’re doing in their lives. I didn’t grow up in a small town, so I never really had this kind of interaction, being in a little town where you get to actually know people and be involved,” Kaelin said.
Along with running a business you come across a lot of long-lasting memories, Kaelin said one of her favorite memories from running Elements was during the very beginning of taking over the café.
“When we had our original team taking over… having to transition, that process with them… we tried to do some team things. We’d have a party and do minute-to-win it games… just celebrating together and getting to know each other, that was one of the fun things, working in here with the team,” Kaelin said.
Kaelin said that she is thankful for the consistent support of the community and hopes to continue this momentum as their café grows.
“We love being in Puyallup and we are grateful for all the support that we’ve had the last three years,” Kaelin said. “Before Covid, through Covid and now after, there have been so many consistent people that have showed up, some people are almost daily, some people are weekly but there’s just been a lot of love and support with the small businesses, trying to keep them going and just not forgetting that were here cause this is a hard season, but we are just appreciative of all the support we’ve had.”
