Mom works overtime to launch coffee shop


After the general manager of Willamette Week was laid off, the divorced mother of two boys decided to open a coffee shop on Hawthorne.

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After the general manager of Willamette Week was laid off, the divorced mother of two boys decided to open a coffee shop.

Shawna McKeown opened Oui Presse on Hawthorne Boulevard.

Her story is a familiar one, playing out in various forms across a metro area with a jobless rate that has hovered above 10 percent for more than a year. Local groups that work with budding entrepreneurs note a significant uptick in the number of people seeking to open a business. While some have always dreamed of being self-employed, many, such as McKeown, are starting businesses out of necessity.

McKeown, 43, seeded her shop with a small severance package from the paper, money from her retirement savings and three credit cards. In October, she signed a lease on a storefront at 1740 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., a space where a cafe and later a clothing store had failed.

Read more at OregonLive.com.

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