Year 3

Bernie Digman opened Milagro Coffee y Espresso on Mother’s Day of 1998. He spent the next 20+ years building a community around his passion for coffee and the way a cafe can bring people together. I started working here in June of 2006. It was my 3rd year of a long college education at NMSU and I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn’t really drink coffee at the time, I just knew I needed a job and I liked the people I had met who already worked here. Over the next 15 years, I not only fell in love with Las Cruces, I fell in love with coffee, and I began to understand what drew me to a business like Milagro and a person like Bernie. He generously taught me a ton about roasting, brewing, and serving coffee. And I was able to learn skills in the bakery from some really talented pastry chefs and bakers. In July of 2021, we finalized the paperwork and I took over as Owner of Milagro.

I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this adventure and to help guide Milagro into the next 25 years. I truly enjoy serving this community, and I hope to keep doing this for as long as I am able.

Going into Year 3, I think my focus is on sharing. Sharing knowledge and expertise; and sharing my vision for how I believe a business- large or small, local or far-reaching- can be community oriented and supportive of all people.

Stay tuned to this blog, or come by and talk to us at the store so we can share with you. This writing stuff is a new and strange undertaking for me but I’m going to give it my best, even if no one reads. Boom.

-John