What’s more important for the perfect cup of coffee? The roast? Or the beans?

“It’s all in the roast,” according to Carla Wroten, who co-owns Steady Eddy’s Coffee House alongside her husband, Jamell Wroten.

Steady Eddy’s Coffee House, located at 5 E. Main St. has been a fixture in the Winters food and coffee scene for the past 18 years. Around nine of those wonderful years have been under the watch of Carla and Mell.

How have they been able to sustain their success? According to Carla Wroten, the Winters community has played a significant role.

“This is the ideal community to be a part of,” she said. “They embrace us. I love getting in the middle of all the activities and networking with other business owners. It’s been awesome for our customers to become our friends and family. I think the most special thing about the shop is that everyone in town has a connection with it. I would say it’s everyone’s coffee shop, not just ours. People look forward to that kind of unique connection that sometimes doesn’t happen anymore.”

“We are so community-focused. That’s just who we are,” Wroten continued. “This is such a special place where you can run into half the community and get updates in person in real life. It’s really a special thing how we can connect with people at the shop. We truly care about each other.”

Earlier this year, Wroten was the recipient of a Theodore Winters Award, an honor that goes to candidates who have made significant contributions to the betterment of the Winters community. Candidates would be involved in one or two activities in which the person has given generously of his/her time and energy.

“It was very surprising to be nominated,” Wroten said. “Thats not why we do our volunteer work. We do the work because there is just a small pool of us that are doing a lot of the downtown events. So when you are recognized by your peers, it’s kind of a moment in time where I can stop and appreciate it a little bit. All my friends and people I work with were at the ceremony dinner, and it was nice to see them all nominated for their awards.”

Speaking of awards, two years ago, Steady Eddy’s was named the Yolo County Small Business of the Year for 2021 by Sen. Bill Dodd.

Wroten hopes that even more people can discover their coffee shop.

“I think our coffee shop has a soul,” Wroten said. “Its success is not dependent on any one person. It’s dependent on the big picture. We hire kind people. I always hire kindness. They are the people that I want to represent us. We have a big potential to positively impact someone’s life. People come here to socialize. Our shop provides a happy place for people and a consistent place. People have really come to count on us.”

Carla and Mell could have shown they could not be more perfect for the role of owners, as they relish the ins and outs of the roasting process and how creative they can get.

“It’s like baking,” Wroten explained. “There are a lot of variations when you approach roasting. What origin of the beans do you want? The soil. The elevation. The climate. How how do you roast, and for how long. All of that contributes to the taste. When people aren’t used to drinking great coffee, they tend to say coffee doesn’t really taste that good. That’s where I like to change people’s minds. Coffee can taste good too. It should matter what the taste is. I need to have good-tasting coffee.”

As for events coming up for Steady Eddy’s, one to mark on the calendar is their “Kona to Yolo” coffee event set for Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. right in front of the shop

Bags of roasted coffee produced at Monarch Farms out of Hawaii will be available, giving people a chance to not only buy a bag but meet and speak with the coffee farmers and producers.

For more information on the coffee shop, please visit steady-eddys.com/.