Meet Crystal Bock Thiessen, Owner of the Hub Café (hubcafelincoln.com) and Executive Director at Global Ties Nebraska (globaltiesnebraska.com).
Tell us a little about your business. – The Hub Café was founded in 2016 as a farm-to-fork breakfast, brunch, and lunch restaurant. Serving as a “hub” for community and on the “hub” of some of Lincoln’s many bicycle trails, the Hub Café prides itself on fresh, locally-sourced, chef-driven dishes.
Global Ties Nebraska is a nonprofit local affiliate of Global Ties U.S. and is dedicated to fostering international exchange and citizen diplomacy.
How did you get started in the business? – For the Hub Café, my husband, Jake, was hired on as the sous chef when they opened in 2016, eventually working up to Executive Chef and on the path to purchasing the place from the original owner, Doug Dittman, which we eventually did in July 2023. Prior to our purchase, I served as the Hub’s social media and communications manager.
I became involved with Global Ties Nebraska in 2014 as a board member because of my experience with and interest in global exchanges and international education, and that passion has only grown through being able to host and program for the international leaders who visit us here in Nebraska.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally? – Honestly, balancing different professions and constantly changing my different hats daily has often been challenging, but is also quite rewarding as I get to be involved in so many different areas of personal and professional interest.
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – This is a hard one…since I’m also an English language teacher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (my “real” full-time job), I think a lot of my professional achievements relate to education, publication and work with my students from all over the world. With Global Ties U.S., becoming the first Executive Director of the organization has been an especially great achievement, and I’m quite proud of the contributions I’ve made with my team to get us to that point.
Tell us a little about your family. – Jake and I and two cats, Harvey and Amos.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life? – The biggest turning point in my life was studying abroad in the Netherlands when I was in college. After that experience, I was hooked on seeing and absorbing the world as much as possible and have been to 54 countries since then. The second was when Jake and I lived and worked in Japan for three years, followed by me living in eastern Ukraine for one. Those years really taught me what it meant to be a part of a community and how it’s the people that make a place especially important in our lives, not necessarily the place itself, so it’s important to make, cultivate and maintain those relationships with others in our lives.
What local nonprofit organizations are you passionate about or involved with, and are there any special reasons why? – Besides Global Ties Nebraska, I am also a supporting member of the Great Plains Trails Network because of their dedication to improving and expanding the bicycle trails network in Lincoln and beyond. Additionally, I serve on the South Salt Creek Community Organization as board president because I think that really transformative community impact begins close to home with our neighbors and in our neighborhoods.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – Hub Café: hubcafelincoln.com and @hubcafelincoln | Global Ties Nebraska: globaltiesnebraska.com and @globaltiesne.