Ann Arbor Coffee: A Catalyst for Entrepeneurship - Friday, January 22nd

3:30 AM. It's a cold windy night and I can't sleep. Here's the low-down on the new RoosRoast Coffee Works.


It's a very busy January as we set up the new space. It's basically 2 rooms. One is an office-spacey lobby, with two more small office-spacey roomicals (cross a room and a cubical and you basically end up with what a manager gets in a car dealership) off to the side. This is the home of retail. In the back is room number two, a large high-ceilinged studio with a garage door opening out onto the parking lot. This is the home of the roaster. And hey, this is Ann Arbor, so take note: if you come to visit us, the parking is free back there.

The place screams corporate abundance of the late 1980's in Michigan, and we know we're a long way from that now! (I don't know exactly when the building was built but that's what I hear when I listen closely. If you drive south down S. Industrial you'll see what was once corporate pride is now empty buildings.)

We're styling the place out by recycling and reusing (Habitat for Humanity ReStore on Aprill Drive off Jackson Road and the ReUse Center just down the road from us) with very little impact, lots of good smells, great vibes, and amazing coffee. RoosRoast has had several homes but at this one, we can finally do it all under one roof.

I have been painting and organizing the space with the help of artist Joanna Farnum and our January intern Becky Wurwarg from Oberlin College, while Brian handles the roasting, graphics and logistics (and editing your post, John. -brian).

People, it's coming together!

Retail in the front. Roaster in the back. Ann Arbor loves its retail and it loves its coffee and that's what we're here to provide.

The RoosRoast Coffee Works address is 1155 Rosewood, Suite B (running between South Industrial and Packard, with speed bumps on the Packard end for the people who like to cut through). We're on the South Industrial end, right in the heart of the thrift store zone. Our immediate neighbors, Pride Ride and Harve's Electronics are very cool. We already knocked out Pride Ride's power, unintentionally. But we drank coffee together, and that was an unusual, but effective ice-breaker, once we got the power back on. TGI Direct in the building next door is filled with wonderful people. They helped us out when our latest shipment of green beans arrived.

I'm discovering that all around here are great local businesses worth supporting. ShanaLogic runs her web based art gallery out of a building near us, near Woman in the Shoe consignment shop, and Fringes Hair Salon. Affordable Computers is right across the street, and thanks to them this computer is working right now!

Here on Industrial you have the PTO Thrift Shop, ReUse Center, Big Sky Recording, Alro Metals Plus and True Tech Auto Repair. Morgan and York is just over on Packard, with Fraser's Pub and Big Ten Burrito.


Last, but not least, we have the La Marzocco G5 from what was the Mercury Coffee Bar in Detroit.

A fine roaster, and a fine espresso machine within mere feet of one another. With these two on-hand?

Let the crema begin.

Posted by John at 10:58am 01/22/10 &mdash share on or