javajueckstock Senior Member Joined: 25 Sep 2002 Posts: 52 Location: Sunfield, Mi Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: none now, later though... Grinder: Rancilio rocky Vac Pot: na Drip: aeropress, Roaster: iRoaster
Posted Fri Jul 18, 2008, 7:08pm Subject: Sunfield Coffee Company
For those of you who live in the Greater Lansing area, you know how limited our choices are for good coffee. In a town filled with Biggby (Beaners), Star bucks, and Tim Horton's, it is getting more and more difficult to find anything that even resembles good espresso based coffee.
If you are lucky, you may find a coffee shop that still uses a manual espresso machine (rather than a super-automatic) and a barista who knows how to create good micro foam and pull a good shot of espresso, but it's not too likely.
If you are West of Lansing, look for a small town called Sunfield (pop. 700-ish). Sunfield is 15 miles West of Grand Ledge and it has an old fashioned, independent coffee shop called Sunfield Coffee company.
This shop is owned by a former Beaners trainer who is very passionate about coffee. Her family (Mom, Dad, Sister, and Aunt) are Batista's, as well as a few other employee's. The shop serves soups, sandwiches, ice cream, deserts, and good, high quality coffee.
If you have time to drink your latte in the store, Alicia will do very nice latte art in a classy cappuccino mug.
Posted Tue Oct 28, 2008, 9:26am Subject: Re: Sunfield Coffee Company
I had a chance to make it out to Sunfield yesterday, the place was a very nice shop. It is a good ways out of my way, but it was pretty decent. I don't know who my Barista was, but I don't think it was any of the people you had mentioned before - she was at most in her low 20s.
javajueckstock Senior Member Joined: 25 Sep 2002 Posts: 52 Location: Sunfield, Mi Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: none now, later though... Grinder: Rancilio rocky Vac Pot: na Drip: aeropress, Roaster: iRoaster
Posted Tue Oct 28, 2008, 9:34am Subject: Re: Sunfield Coffee Company
There are two ladies that work there in their twenties, one is the owner, and one is another employee. I would guess from the tone of your post that you probably didn't get the owner as your barista, what time of day did you stop in?
Posted Wed Oct 29, 2008, 11:21am Subject: Re: Sunfield Coffee Company
I probably got there around 4 - 4:30. It would be nice to have a little jam session out here in Mid-Michigan. I do enjoy getting out to Ugly Mug and will have to head up to Grand Rapids when MadCap opens, but sometimes a place less than 70 miles away is good (this one only being about 30 miles).
That being said, I've been seriously tossing around the idea of opening a *good* coffee shop in the area (30 miles is far enough to not be considered competition, right?). Anyone have insights as to why this is a great/terrible idea, I'm fairly new to the Mid-Michigan life.
javajueckstock Senior Member Joined: 25 Sep 2002 Posts: 52 Location: Sunfield, Mi Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: none now, later though... Grinder: Rancilio rocky Vac Pot: na Drip: aeropress, Roaster: iRoaster
Posted Wed Nov 5, 2008, 12:57pm Subject: Re: Sunfield Coffee Company
I would love to see another independant coffee shop in the area, however, I will say that in the last two years several coffee shops have gone out of business.
Perk Up in Grand Ledge Dragonfly Coffee in Okemos Il Boccio in South Lansing Brewster's Beanery in West Lansing Evelyn Bay in South Lansing
I think one in Eaton Rapids and one in Hastings also went out
I think Cornerstone Coffee lost a few stores
These are all in the last two years within 45 miles of my location in Sunfield, I am sure there are more that I don't know about, but the point is that if you are not able to keep opening/operating costs low, and you don't have enough cash to survive 6 months to a year while you try to make a profit, opening a brick and mortar coffee shop can be dangerous.
Posted Wed Nov 5, 2008, 10:08pm Subject: Re: Sunfield Coffee Company
I think a big issue with this is that this is by far a college town. And this is is a college town where if it isn't a stone's throw away, or on one of the 1-10 CATA routes, its way too far away. This is a pretty interesting phenomena, and I have no clue why it exists.
I may be wrong, but my gut feeling is that if a coffee shop opened up, marketed it self well to MSU/Cooley/LCC students, and was close enough to MSU's campus, it would do well. Especially if it could distinguish it self as having noticeably good coffee.
Unfortunately, that is also the reason why that real estate is sooooooooooo expensive :(.
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