Small Business Saturday: There are unique coffee shops in Downtown Muskegon, each with its own character and vibe. Aldea Coffee – in 794 Northtown at Pine Street and Clay Avenue – has created a space for connection and for community. All through the day, the Aldea Coffee café brings together an eclectic grouping of people of all generations, walks of life and reasons for sharing the space.
The Muskegon café is home to students studying, retirees catching up, business professionals meeting and plenty of people just taking a break from the rush of life. Aldea Coffee co-owners Jeremy Miller and Andrew Boyd began in 2009 with a non-profit development company, starting a coffee operation in Honduras, which has grown to operations including Tanzania. The company began selling coffee products in the Muskegon Farmers Market that year and with a for-profit business opened its first café in Grand Haven in 2015. That was followed by the Muskegon Café in 2019 and now the expansion of its roasting and distribution center in a building on Getty Street in the City of Muskegon.
The international non-profit company working with coffee farmers imports product to Muskegon where the for-profit Aldea Coffee roasts it for the cafes and wholesale and retail distribution. Growing to 30 employees, Aldea Coffee was honored by the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce last month with the chamber’s 2023 Excellence Award for entrepreneurship. Aldea has been built on a triple bottom line of serving people, the planet and business profits, the owners said. Be it in Central America, Africa or Muskegon, the company’s mission is to make a difference in people’s lives, they said. The Muskegon café serves beverages including a variety of what the owners call “amazing” coffees, pour overs, espresso drinks, cold brews and varieties of organic loose-leaf tea along with various baked goods.
The Aldea Muskegon café is open Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. “We could not be prouder of what is going on in Muskegon,” Jeremy said. “It is exciting to see all of the development downtown and we can’t wait for what’s next.” Check out the company’s website at: www.aldeacoffee.com. The City of Muskegon’s Development Services Division highlights the city’s small businesses on Saturday mornings.
Email ideas for future business profiles to dave.alexander@shorelinecity.com.
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