CEDAR FALLS - When you frequent a place where everybody knows your name, the last thing you want to hear is that the name of the owner is about to change.

"When I told people the last two weeks I was here that I was selling Cup of Joe, I could see their shoulders go up like this," Ann Eastman said, tensing up her shoulders. "And then I'd say Dawn (Wilson) was buying it, and they'd do like this," she said as she smiled and relaxed her shoulders.

Eastman started the downtown coffee shop in 1995, and Dawn Wilson has served as manager for much of that time. As 2007 began, Eastman sold the business to Wilson, wanting to spend more time at home as a mother.

Back in 1996 Dawn Wilson moved to Cedar Falls and discovered a friendly little coffee shop called Cup of Joe.

She found it a great place to hang out and contemplated getting a job there, but wasn't sure.

"I knew I loved this place. I was getting a feel for the area. At first I had doubts about working here. I didn't know if I wanted to hang out here or work here. I finally came to grips with it," Wilson said.

Eastman hired Wilson, who started out part time, and over time her responsibilities grew.

When Eastman bought the building and started the coffee shop in 1995 she was fresh out of college with a degree in art, recently married and uncertain what she would do with her life. She looked at the building at 102 Main St., and said she bought it for the "the price of a car."

She renovated the place, started incorporating the eclectic 1950s/60s decor and tried to build a successful business.

"I had no expectations. I thought it was fine. I was here all the time," Eastman said.

As the business grew Eastman wanted to spend more time with her family, and Wilson stepped up to manage the place.

For several years the two good friends teamed up to make decisions about the business.

As a result, Cup of Joe will see few changes with the change of ownership.

"If I were to make a lot of changes, I would just be changing everything I helped create," Wilson said.

However, Cup of Joe will start opening earlier, starting at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays. It's a move customers had requested for several years.

The atmosphere at Cup of Joe feeds off the personalities of the two women. They have an easy friendship, where they laugh at the everyday foibles, share each other's troubles and feel free to give each other a hard time.

The friendship extends to employees.

"The older we get, the more we've turned into den mothers. Employees check out, and we make sure they have a warm hat on or nag them to go to class," Eastman said.

For Wilson, an outgoing people person and admitted workaholic, Cup of Joe fits. She enjoys building relationships with employees and customers and likes the diversity she sees in each at the coffee shop.

"I'm excited for the upcoming years. The support has been amazing," Wilson said.

When the sale was drawing near and Eastman prepared to leave the shop, the two women shed many tears as they worked their final shifts. Wilson said that after 10 years, she misses having Eastman there every day.

For Eastman, it's been an adjustment to walk into the shop and not step behind the counter.

"It's just opening up a chapter for me where I can come in to Cup of Joe and just relax. It's so liberating," she said.

She has caught herself walking right back to the espresso machines on more than one occasion, a mistake that Wilson needles her for, and then they both laugh.

"I miss making drinks. I miss the sound of the steamers. I miss the way it looks when the espresso mixes with the milk," Eastman said. Luckily for her, Wilson allows her to mix an occasional drink if she so desires.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1402 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.