Beer isn’t the only brew Grand Rapids does exceptionally well – local coffee roasters also enjoy widespread acclaim. And like the area’s renowned beer scene, our coffee culture is rooted in community, innovation and passion.

One local company has been roasting coffee for 100 years. Another is consistently ranked among the best coffee roasters in the country. Others distinguish themselves through distinctive ingredients, roasting techniques and brewing preferences. The result is a countless variety of homegrown flavors and blends available at coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets through the city.

You’re sure to find a new favorite cup of joe!

Coffee Roasters

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At Madcap, the garage door of the former auto shop opens out onto a patio during warmer weather months.
Madcap exterior

At Madcap, the garage door of the former auto shop opens out onto a patio during warmer weather months.

Photo by Brian Craig for Experience Grand Rapids

Madcap Coffee

Named one of the nation’s best coffee roasters by Epicurious, Men’s Journal, Thrillist and more, Madcap distributes to locations across the U.S. But only in Grand Rapids can you experience the full Madcap effect, complete with award-winning barista service – at the company’s Downtown and Uptown locations.

Rowster Coffee

You pronounce the “row” in Rowster like “row your boat” – a nod to both the clean, fresh waters of West Michigan and the waters of each global region from which Rowster sources beans. The company distributes its small-batch coffee blends to its Uptown café – once named Michigan’s best coffee shop by Business Insider – as well as to restaurants and grocery stores.

Ferris Coffee Signage
Ferris Coffee latte and avocado toast

Ferris Coffee serves up coffee at Grand Rapids and Holland locations.

Photo by Brian Craig for Experience Grand Rapids

Ferris Coffee & Nut Co.

This family-owned company has roasted and distributed specialty coffees (and gourmet nuts) since 1924. The company serves up a wide variety of coffee drinks in a retail café at its West Side headquarters and supplies products to many local grocery stores, restaurants and businesses.

Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters

This wholesale micro-batch roaster supplies 30+ local businesses and hundreds of retail customers – and it opens to the public every Saturday for a unique education and tasting experience.

Schuil Coffee Beans
Schuil roasts and sells more than 100 different types of coffee

Schuil roasts and sells more than 100 different types of coffee

Photo by Experience Grand Rapids

Schuil Coffee Co

One of the first Michigan companies to roast, package and sell specialty coffees continues to wholesale coffee and tea from around the world to Midwest retailers, coffee shops and restaurants. It operates a retail coffee shop at its Kentwood roasting facility.

Herman's Boy Chai Latte

Herman's Boy roasts its own coffee in-house. You'll also find plenty of options on the food menu.

Photo by Herman's Boy

Herman's Boy

Carrying on the legacy of The Coffee Ranch, a coffee roaster founded in Grand Rapids in 1901, Herman’s Boy roasts the highest grade coffees from around the world on premises – and serves them at its Rockford coffee shop, along with baked goods, deli items, candy, fudge and kitchen gadgets.

Littlefoot Coffee Roasters

Named 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Michigan State University Product Center, Littlefoot roasts a variety of seasonal single-origin and blend varieties, both whole bean and ground, at its Grandville headquarters. You can order their coffees online for shipping or curbside pickup.

Jam’nBean Coffee Company

Jam’nBean roasts coffee fresh daily and serves it up hot and delicious at its Ada and Cascade cafés. Organic loose leaf teas and crafted-in-house gourmet popcorn are also available.

Wildroast Coffee Co. serves up a variety of pastries, coffee, lattes, tea, and more.

Wildroast Coffee Co., a specialty coffee shop in a 100-year-old Grandville building.

Photo by Experience Grand Rapids

Coffee Shops

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The Grand Rapids area is also home to an abundance of locally owned coffee shops featuring selections from the companies profiled above and other master roasters. Popular gathering spots include:

  • Bitter End Coffee House, a 24/7 coffee café on the city’s West Side, just a few blocks from downtown.
  • Common Ground, an Uptown favorite with a menu of locally roasted fair-trade organic coffees plus a wide variety of specialty drinks.
  • The Eden Café, serves up coffee, smoothies and more in its intentionally inclusive and welcoming location on Bridge Street. 
  • The Happy Cat Café, serving up coffee, kittens and purr happiness on the edge of downtown.
  • Lantern Coffee Bar and Lounge, a comfy, convenient downtown favorite in a historic building.
  • Last Mile Café, a Certified B Corp, is working to make coffee better with ethically and sustainably sourced beans and by supporting 10% of its revenue to locally-selected causes. 
  • Morning Ritual, a West Side shop specializing in handcrafted floral and herbal coffee flavors.
  • The Mortals, which invites guests to its downtown location to have conversations about mortality over internationally inspired coffee.
  • PaLatté Coffee & Art, a downtown shop offering an ever-changing gallery of local artists’ work along with delectable coffees, teas and pastries.
  • Roots Brew Shop, a West Side destination for premium coffee and freshly made food.
  • Sip Coffee & Cocktails in Alger Heights – look for the massive zinnias wall mural outside – serves up coffee and espresso drinks, craft cocktails, mocktails, and artisanal flatbreads.
  • Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, on the north edge of downtown, is known for real ingredient-focused, globally-influenced beverages.
  • Downtown’s Social Misfits pairs micro-roasted artisanal coffees with craft cocktails and scratch-made waffle dishes.
  • Squibb Coffee maintains a Coffee & Wine Bar in Uptown, Rise + Squibb coffee shop + bakery on the West Side and a Coffee Bar in the Grand Rapids Downtown Market.  
  • Stovetop Café in Uptown features coffees freshly roasted two hours down the road in Ann Arbor.
  • Wildroast Coffee Co., a specialty coffee shop in a 100-year-old Grandville building.

Outdoor Coffee Shops

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Relax with a cup of coffee, tea or other craft beverage on an outdoor patio at these shops:

  • Madcap Coffee on Fulton Street is located in a renovated auto body shop and it opens its garage doors to extend seating into the outdoors in warm weather. 
  • Jam’nBean Coffee Company - Cascade provides summer seating on its landscaped front yard and expansive backyard deck. 
  • Outside Coffee Co. furnishes its beautiful garden setting with tables, chairs, hammocks and geodomes for serene outdoor sipping in any weather.
  • Sparrows Coffee offers a selection of outdoor seating at its Creston location at Kingma’s Market. Enjoy more Sparrows Coffee at Scorpion Hearts Club, which provides a dog-friendly outdoor seating area.
  • Switchback Gear Exchange, a combo bike shop-coffee shop has an outdoor patio equipped with tables and chairs, umbrellas, heaters, and dog bowls.
  • Lucy’s Café is a coffee bar, bakery and breakfast/lunch destination offering a spacious street-front patio shaded with bright green umbrellas.
  • That Early Bird in Uptown serves a hearty cup of joe – plus breakfast and lunch – on a shaded patio for protection from the sun.
  • The spacious patio at Rise Authentic Baking Co. + Squibb Coffee is a hidden gem with an array of chairs, tables, umbrellas, Wi-Fi, and charging outlets. During colder months, heated greenhouses are available on the back patio. 
  • Sip Coffee & Cocktails in Alger Heights serves coffee, cocktails, spirit-free drinks, and a variety of dips and flatbreads on their wide street-front patio. 
  • Located on the park grounds of the Grand Rapids Veterans Memorial Park, Has Heart Coffee Shop is set to open in Summer 2023 and plans to have a spacious outdoor patio. 
  • Golden Grounds Coffee Co. next to Grand Valley State University extends seating outdoors during warmer months and fills its menu with a variety of seasonal flavors. 

Beer + Coffee

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A number of local breweries use coffee in select beer recipes. Some best bets include Breakfast Stout at Founders Brewing Company, Sabotage Milk Stout at Hudsonville Pike 51 Brewing Co., the Atomic Sky Nitro at Creston Taproom, Black Betsy Coffee Stout at The Mitten Brewing Company, Let's Get At 'Er Coffee Porter at City Built Brewing, Charles Bradley Stout at Grand Rapids Brewing Company, and a rotating selection of coffee-infused beers at E.B. Coffee & Pub.

Coffee + Spirits

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Three local distillers have incorporated rich coffee flavor into their handcrafted spirits: Long Road Distillers teamed with Madcap Coffee to create Amaro Pazzo, an Italian herbal liqueur blended with coffee. Eastern Kille Distillery uses locally roasted coffee beans in its Coffee Liqueur. Bier Distillery crafts a Hopjes-Coffee Candy Liqueur. Arktos, a local meadery, uses locally roasted and cold-brewed coffee in its Cricket Song Mead.

Coffee as Dessert

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Try the tiramisu at Amore Trattoria Italiana, cappuccino cake at The Cakabakery, flourless chocolate-espresso cake at Gravity Taphouse & Grille, coffee macarons at Le Bon Macaron, the dark chocolate espresso bar at MoKAYA, a chocolate cake (made with espresso orange zest) at Terra GR, baklava served with Turkish coffee at Zivio and Madcap Coffee ice cream at Love’s Ice Cream & Chocolate.

Note: Beer, spirit and menu selections may change, please check availability with individual locations before you go.

Coffee Events

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Search for Coffeehouses

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Get your coffee fix throughout the Grand Rapids area. Search our coffeehouses.