I caught up with Brewington during a busy Thursday night between live musical performances and pour-over coffees to find out how the idea for Always Brewing Detroit became a reality, and how it is redefining the neighborhood coffee shop.
KT: As long as I’ve known you, you’ve always wanted to start a coffee house. Can you give us some background on where the coffee house idea came from?
AB: It actually came from a school assignment for my Honors English class, when I was 17. Our student teacher, Matt, told us to come up with a business idea and describe it. I described this place called “The Crawl Space” (because “The Basement” seemed too obvious, you know? Ha ha). It would be a coffee shop and community hangout during the day, and at night become a place for live music. After I wrote up the paper, Matt said, “If you ever open up a place like this, let me know!” Every day, I’m like, I need to find Matt, it exists now!
KT: Do you want to talk a little bit about the process of starting your own business?
AB: When I was 25, I quit my job, moved to downtown Detroit (when it was still semi-cheap to move downtown) and started waiting tables, with two days off per week so I could work on my business plan. Which, by the way, don’t Google “business plan”; it’s terrifying! I took a ten day class on how to write a business plan through the Michigan Small Business Technology & Development Center, and then I gave myself two months to write it… I got hooked up with TechTown’s Thrive One program. With their support, I set goals: to finish my business plan, find a location and find funding...
I got the funding, a $15,000 loan from TechTown and a $5,000 loan from Detroit Micro Enterprise Fund. As for the location, I literally drove around Detroit trying to find one.
KT: What made you choose the Grandmont/Rosedale Park neighborhood?
AB: I checked out the University District, but there wasn’t any parking, so I could not sign on to a Livernois location. Next, I checked out Southwest Detroit, but they already have a great coffee house (Cafe con Leche), and I did not want to be in competition. I did a request for proposal for a location in West Village where Harlequin Cafe used to be. Unfortunately, live music is a big part of my plan, and since the neighbors had complained about noise [from the prior tenant], that was out.
My mentor from TechTown actually had a meeting here [when it was a civic building] with the Executive Director of the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation, Tom Goddeeris. Tom said, “I wish we just had a coffee house we could meet at…” My mentor told him about me and my mission to open a coffee house, and I met with Tom to hear more about the area. Grandmont/Rosedale Park has a huge soccer league, baseball league, farmer’s market, the city’s oldest community theatre group, but they had no place to meet. It was kind of a no-brainer, but I decided to try a pop-up first.
KT: I noticed you also had a pop-up Spring Market recently, featuring goods by local artisans, what do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages of the pop-up trend?
AB: So I think you should do a pop-up with intention. People do pop-ups because it’s a trendy thing right now, but why? You can do a pop-up to build your brand and clientele and practice selling your stuff (especially if you don’t have a storefront) or test out a location or a particular market. You have to know what your endgame is. You should always think one step ahead of where you actually are.
KT: Why do you think community support is so important to starting a business or non-profit specifically in Detroit?
AB: Because you know what we suck at in Detroit? Having people. We need to have people, and a community, you can build a relationship with. I try to retain, at a minimum, my customers’ first names and what they’re drinking. You have to know people and keep track. Tuesday mornings I get 10-25 retired people from the neighborhood and none of them order. It’s just “Hey, I’ll have the usual.”
KT: What does ABD offer that a coffee house chain does not?
AB: The personalized touch, the events, and being the community gathering place. This community gives it back, over and over, and I keep being shocked by it. I have one customer who comes in to use the conference room for her business, but she doesn’t drink coffee. She asked me the other day if I needed anything. I mentioned that an oval table would probably fit the space better, and she said, “Pick one out; I’ll buy it for you.” There are other examples like that. People just show up, and ask what we need. Humbled isn’t even the right word; I get chills. They want me to stay and be here a long time. It’s bigger picture stuff.
KT: What products do you serve, and what is your buying philosophy?
AB: Almost everything we carry comes from within a 15 mile radius from the shop, so there is a low carbon footprint. We stock Chazzano coffee, Eli tea, Guernsey milk, Chez Chloe lava cakes, Love & Buttercream cookies, Beautiful Soup soups, and Fresh Corner Cafe sandwiches.
KT: What does the future hold for Always Brewing Detroit? A franchise?
AB: Everyone is like, where’s the next shop? To me, “franchise” is a dirty word. What I see myself doing down the road is opening up other businesses on Grand River... There aren’t really any other place-making, meetup businesses around here.
Upcoming Events: Tuesday, May 20th: Craft Night at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 22nd: Open Mic Night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday, June 3rd: Bring Your Own Board Game Night at 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 13th: A local Art Show all day. For more information, call (313) 879-1102 or e-mail coffee@alwaysbrewingdetroit.com
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays: 9 a.m. to Noon
Location: Always Brewing Detroit is located at 19180 Grand River Ave. in Detroit
AB: It actually came from a school assignment for my Honors English class, when I was 17. Our student teacher, Matt, told us to come up with a business idea and describe it. I described this place called “The Crawl Space” (because “The Basement” seemed too obvious, you know? Ha ha). It would be a coffee shop and community hangout during the day, and at night become a place for live music. After I wrote up the paper, Matt said, “If you ever open up a place like this, let me know!” Every day, I’m like, I need to find Matt, it exists now!
KT: Do you want to talk a little bit about the process of starting your own business?
AB: When I was 25, I quit my job, moved to downtown Detroit (when it was still semi-cheap to move downtown) and started waiting tables, with two days off per week so I could work on my business plan. Which, by the way, don’t Google “business plan”; it’s terrifying! I took a ten day class on how to write a business plan through the Michigan Small Business Technology & Development Center, and then I gave myself two months to write it… I got hooked up with TechTown’s Thrive One program. With their support, I set goals: to finish my business plan, find a location and find funding...
I got the funding, a $15,000 loan from TechTown and a $5,000 loan from Detroit Micro Enterprise Fund. As for the location, I literally drove around Detroit trying to find one.
KT: What made you choose the Grandmont/Rosedale Park neighborhood?
AB: I checked out the University District, but there wasn’t any parking, so I could not sign on to a Livernois location. Next, I checked out Southwest Detroit, but they already have a great coffee house (Cafe con Leche), and I did not want to be in competition. I did a request for proposal for a location in West Village where Harlequin Cafe used to be. Unfortunately, live music is a big part of my plan, and since the neighbors had complained about noise [from the prior tenant], that was out.
My mentor from TechTown actually had a meeting here [when it was a civic building] with the Executive Director of the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation, Tom Goddeeris. Tom said, “I wish we just had a coffee house we could meet at…” My mentor told him about me and my mission to open a coffee house, and I met with Tom to hear more about the area. Grandmont/Rosedale Park has a huge soccer league, baseball league, farmer’s market, the city’s oldest community theatre group, but they had no place to meet. It was kind of a no-brainer, but I decided to try a pop-up first.
KT: I noticed you also had a pop-up Spring Market recently, featuring goods by local artisans, what do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages of the pop-up trend?
AB: So I think you should do a pop-up with intention. People do pop-ups because it’s a trendy thing right now, but why? You can do a pop-up to build your brand and clientele and practice selling your stuff (especially if you don’t have a storefront) or test out a location or a particular market. You have to know what your endgame is. You should always think one step ahead of where you actually are.
KT: Why do you think community support is so important to starting a business or non-profit specifically in Detroit?
AB: Because you know what we suck at in Detroit? Having people. We need to have people, and a community, you can build a relationship with. I try to retain, at a minimum, my customers’ first names and what they’re drinking. You have to know people and keep track. Tuesday mornings I get 10-25 retired people from the neighborhood and none of them order. It’s just “Hey, I’ll have the usual.”
KT: What does ABD offer that a coffee house chain does not?
AB: The personalized touch, the events, and being the community gathering place. This community gives it back, over and over, and I keep being shocked by it. I have one customer who comes in to use the conference room for her business, but she doesn’t drink coffee. She asked me the other day if I needed anything. I mentioned that an oval table would probably fit the space better, and she said, “Pick one out; I’ll buy it for you.” There are other examples like that. People just show up, and ask what we need. Humbled isn’t even the right word; I get chills. They want me to stay and be here a long time. It’s bigger picture stuff.
KT: What products do you serve, and what is your buying philosophy?
AB: Almost everything we carry comes from within a 15 mile radius from the shop, so there is a low carbon footprint. We stock Chazzano coffee, Eli tea, Guernsey milk, Chez Chloe lava cakes, Love & Buttercream cookies, Beautiful Soup soups, and Fresh Corner Cafe sandwiches.
KT: What does the future hold for Always Brewing Detroit? A franchise?
AB: Everyone is like, where’s the next shop? To me, “franchise” is a dirty word. What I see myself doing down the road is opening up other businesses on Grand River... There aren’t really any other place-making, meetup businesses around here.
Upcoming Events: Tuesday, May 20th: Craft Night at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 22nd: Open Mic Night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday, June 3rd: Bring Your Own Board Game Night at 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 13th: A local Art Show all day. For more information, call (313) 879-1102 or e-mail coffee@alwaysbrewingdetroit.com
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays: 9 a.m. to Noon
Location: Always Brewing Detroit is located at 19180 Grand River Ave. in Detroit
~KT
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