Wild Bill's Coffeeshop
COMING SOON:
The remodeling of Wild Bill’s Coffeeshop will be complete in December and we will re-open for business on January 19th, 2010.
More info here (including coupon)
Bill Story
Coffeeshop
Menu
Staff
Music
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop Tile Project
In his book, The Unlikely Celebrity, "Thomas Walz tells the story of Bill Sackter, a man who spent nearly half a century in a Minnesota mental institution and emerged to blossom into a most unlikely celebrity.
Some years after his discharge from Fairbault State Hospital as a result of the movement to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill in the 1960's, Bill enjoyed a serendipitous encounter with a young college student and part-time musician, Barry Morrow.
When Morrow accepted a job at the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa, Bill followed him to Iowa City and was put in charge of a small coffee service.
A cheerful man of great good will who was a harmonica virtuoso, Bill began to inspire affectionate legends, and his life as a celebrity began in earnest.
He was named Iowa's Handicapped Person of the Year in 1977."
Excerpted from the back cover of The Unlikely Celebrity.
A listing of various books and articles on Bill Sackter
Books
- Walz, Thomas. The Unlikely Celebrity: Bill Sackter's triumph over disability. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, c1998.
- Mentally handicapped--Iowa Biography
- Coffee shops--Iowa--Employees Biography
- Weverka, Robert. The story of Bill. Toronto, New York: Bantam Books, c1983.
- Sackter, Bill--Fiction
Articles
- Walz, Thomas. "The aging developmentally disabled person: a review," The Gerontologist, v. 26, December '86: p. 622-9
- Mentally handicapped aged
- Aged--Mortality
The Coffeeshop was made famous when its first proprietor, Bill Sackter, was featured in a television movie and a sequel about his life. The first movie, which won Emmy awards for cowriter Barry Morrow and actor Mickey Rooney (as Bill), was called Bill(1981); the sequel was entitled Bill on His Own(1983).
Years later, Morrow would win an Oscar for his script of Rain Man.
Picture courtesy of Bill's Coffeeshop
Since Bill's death in 1983, the Coffeeshop has expanded and added staff.
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a service learning project in the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. The Coffeeshop is operated by adults with disabilities, thus providing
* Employment opportunities for persons with disabilities
* Practicum opportunities for University Students working with persons with disabilities
* A service amenity for those who enjoy the food and hospitality of the Coffeeshop
Hours Open:
CLOSED FOR RENOVATION UNTIL JANUARY 19, 2010
Breakfast items such as muffins, pastries and coffee (of course!) are typically available throughout the day. The availability of specific types of sandwiches and lunch items may vary.
Beverages
Reg. and Decaf Coffee
Hot Tea
Hot Chocolate
Hot Cider
Vitamin Water
Fuze-Slenderize
Izze
Starbucks Products
All Energy Drinks
Canned Soft Drinks
Gatorade
Iced Tea
Bottled Water
Crystal Light
Snacks
Fruit
Popcorn
Pretzel Rods
Assort. Pretzel Bags
Assort. Snack Crackers
Assorted Chips
Chex Mix
Kosher Pickles
Go-Lean Bars
Fruit/Yogurt Snacks
Mini Muffins
Gum-Cobalt
Gum-Lush
Gum-Rain
Breakfast
Instant Quaker Oatmeal
Cold Cereal
Nature Valley Granola
NutraGrain Bars
Quaker Granola Bars
Pop-Tarts
Yogurt
Sweet Treats
Regular Candy Bars
Tootsie Roll Mini's
Licorice-Red and Black
Mini Thin Mints
Movie Theatre Candy
Individual Candies
Hostess Snack Cakes
Ice Cream Bars
Homemade cookies
Lunch
Campbell's Soup
Chicken Noodles Soup
Thai Noodles
Big Pack Easy Mac
Frozen Dinners
Fresh fruit
Hard boiled eggs
Oasis hummus snack packs
Bread Garden soup
snack size vegetable packs
Bread Garden sandwiches
Tom DeGarmo
Jonathan Dehn
Nick Dolage
Chris Gehl
Naomi Hudek
Trina Johnson
Ben Lewis
David Morice
Shana Prescott
Amy Sunstein
Alena Vazquez (manager)
We're always on the lookout for for performers - especially students who would like to share their talents at Wild Bill's. Thursday nights are for live music, poetry and other special events.
The coffeeshop is also available for use by student groups for meetings or conferences. It seats about 30 - 35 people. The shop also has a kitchen, microwave ovens and other appliances, available for use.
Please contact Alena Vazquez, , manager of the coffeeshop, for reservation.
