Jacob and Marisa both lived in Mankato, MN for many years. Marisa lived there with her parents and Jacob was attending MSU to pursue his Food Science Degree. Marisa and Jacob both worked at the Chipotle on campus, which is where they first met and when their relationship began in 2014. It started out as a friendship, but quickly grew into something more. Marisa and Jacob continued to work together for at least a year or so, before moving up to the cities to pursue their careers and save money for their first house. Jacob was busy with working full time and gaining experience to move up in his Food Science career while Marisa worked full time at a veterinary clinic and was also a full time student at DCTC to become a Veterinary Technician. Even during this busy time in their lives, they’d still try to spend time together by doing lots of outdoor activities such as camping and fishing in the summer and in the winter, snowboarding. They also went on some vacations, including Colorado and flying back to England to see Marisa’s family and to show Jacob where Marisa grew up. They went to visit in 2016 for Marisa’s brothers wedding and went again in 2018.

After years of staying busy with working and saving, in 2019, they were ready to buy their first home together and bought a condo in Burnsville, MN which is where they still reside. 2019 was a big year for them because Jacob was offered a job opportunity at Jack Links Beef Jerky and Marisa was offered a job immediately after her internship at Eagan Pet Clinic, which is where they both continue to pursue their careers, doing what they love.

In March of 2020, they were ready to add to their family and adopted Penelope, their fur baby who’s a brindle lab mix. They did a DNA test on her and she’s at least 6 different breeds! She is now almost 2 years old and the light of their lives.

In May of 2021, Jacob proposed to Marisa. She knew he would ask at some point because they picked out her dream ring together, but she didn’t know when or how, so she was definitely surprised when it did happen. It was a Monday and she’d just finished her shift at work. She called Jacob to let him know she may be home a little later than normal and he told her he’d be disc golfing with some friends so he wouldn’t be home for a while anyway. When she came home, it was dark and quiet, she walked around the corner and there he was, down on one knee. Next to him were candles and rose petals in the shape of a heart with a note that asked if Marisa would marry him, supposedly written by their animals, Egypt and Penelope. He had old pictures of them and a bottle of red wine waiting for her, Marisa’s favorite! After a lot of laughing/almost on the verge of tears, Marisa said “of course!” And he put their ring they had picked out together on her finger. Later that evening, they celebrated at home with some takeout pizza and red wine.

Jacob and Marisa are still big Chipotle fans, not only because they love the food, but because it holds a special place in their hearts. It’s where their story started. They order it at least once a week and they even have the original menu framed and hanging in their dining room. Jacob and Marisa are known as “chipotl-baes” ;)