"Sepia Coffee Project has taken over the space that once housed the Gathering Coffee Co., marking the first brick-and-mortar space for the burgeoning Black-owned roaster. Sepia partners directly with Black and brown farmers throughout parts of the Americas, Africa, and the Indian Pacific and has named its collections of roasted beans after the areas of Detroit that once served as hubs for Black life. Expect single-origin offerings from the Paradise and Blk Bottom collections, or Sepia’s specialty-grade offering, Harmonie. Select an espresso beverage from the hand-painted menu on the wall, pick a pastry from a countertop display case, or grab a bag of beans and other coffee-related merch to brew some of your own at home." - Serena Maria Daniels
"Sepia Coffee Project has taken over the space that once housed the Gathering Coffee Co., marking the first brick-and-mortar space for the burgeoning Black-owned roaster. Sepia partners directly with Black and brown farmers throughout parts of the Americas, Africa, and India and has named its collections of roasted beans after the areas of Detroit that once served as hubs for Black life. Expect single-origin offerings from the Paradise and Blk Bottom collections, or Sepia’s specialty-grade offering, Harmonie. Select an espresso beverage from the hand-painted menu on the wall, pick a pastry from a countertop display case, or grab a bag of beans and other coffee-related merch to brew some of your own at home." - Serena Maria Daniels
"The first brick-and-mortar for this Black-owned roaster, the shop sources beans by partnering directly with Black and brown farmers across the Americas, Africa, and the Indian Pacific and names its roast collections after Detroit neighborhoods that were historic hubs of Black life. Expect single-origin offerings from the Paradise and Blk Bottom collections as well as the specialty-grade Harmonie; customers can order espresso drinks from a hand-painted wall menu, grab a pastry from the countertop display, or buy bags of beans and coffee merch to brew at home." - Serena Maria Daniels
"A local roaster and distributor that supplies Corktown cafes and is the exclusive metro Detroit distributor of Ghost Town Oats is taking over a former coffee shop location to generate revenue while its founder builds out a roastery and tasting room in Highland Park; the company plans to reopen the acquired space on October 1." - Serena Maria Daniels
"A micro-roasting company launched in 2021 whose founder is taking over the aforementioned cafe space to generate revenue while building a larger roastery and tasting room in Highland Park. The shop expects a soft opening around October 1, 2024, and plans to keep much of the current space and offerings while possibly renaming it to honor Hastings Street. The company recently acquired a 1,000-square-foot building at 261 Pilgrim Street plus an adjoining 2,000-square-foot lot for expansion, aims to start production there by year’s end and open a tasting room in spring 2025, and projects at least a fivefold increase in roasting capacity. Currently a micro-roaster supplying about 30 clients across metro Detroit, New York, and Minneapolis, it focuses on single-origin and blended whole beans sourced from Black and brown farmers across the Americas, Africa, and the Indian Pacific, and raised $144,000 from 153 investors via Wefunder for the Highland Park build-out." - Serena Maria Daniels