Business is steady at Midtown's newest cafe,
14 East, which opened its doors in the first floor of the Park Shelton building earlier this month.
Owner Joanne Czerny, an interior designer by trade, opened the coffee bar, which serves espresso drinks, teas and gourmet sweets from Madeleine's Patisserie, after enrolling in a business start-up class offered through an entrepreneurship program at
Tech Town. She was introduced to
Midtown Inc.'s Sue Mosey, who sold her on locating the Park Shelton building and the merits of the Midtown district.
"The clientele is amazing," she says, noting 14 East has already served a mix of students, DIA guests and world travelers. "It's exactly what we thought it would be. And our customers are fabulous."
Czerny's coffee supplier is Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo of Ferndale's
Chazzano Coffee, and she's planning to purchase eco-safe carry-out boxes from Midtown's
Green Safe.
"Not everything here is local, at this point, but our goal is to be proactive with keeping our region and our state alive. And to be as green as possible," she says.
Combining her love of design and entertaining with her new career as a coffee entrepreneurship, Czerny plans to host art shows, tea events and cupping parties in the evening hours. The cafe, which is about 1,500 square feet, also offers guests a private meeting room and free Wi-fi. For two-wheeled coffee fans, there are bike racks available for public use in the Park Shelton garage.
14 East is located at the corner of Woodward and Kirby in the Park Shelton building. It's open seven days a week right now, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Call (313) 871-0500 or visit
14eastcafe.com.
A few blocks away, in the Beethoven Building on Third Ave. at Prentis., the close-knit family
working to open
The Bottom Line Coffeehouse say they are determined to finish construction and start pouring coffee by Labor Day weekend, when the neighborhood throws their annual
Dally in the Ally festival.
Owners Al and Pat Harris, along with their son Kyle, (who will manage the retail operation), will begin hiring a few experienced baristas soon -- though they say a love for Detroit is just as important of a qualification as the ability to pour a mean espresso.
"People who love the area -- that's key. We want our baristas to treat our community members with love and respect. That's really important," Pat Harris says.
In addition to serving coffee during the morning, the Harrises hope to keep the coffeehouse open late to provide customers with an alternative destination to the Midtown bar scene.
"We're going to be looking at opening early in the morning, but we want to stay open late in the night as well," she says, though specific hours haven't been set yet. "We're hoping our customers will drive some of that demand. We've already got some feedback on our Facebook page, that people are excited about the idea of later hours, even up to 10, 11 or 12 at night."
Keep up with news from The Bottom Line on
Facebook.
Sources: Joanne Czerny, Owner, 14 East Cafe; Al and Pat Harris, Co-owners, The Bottom Line Coffeehouse
Writer: Ashley C. Woods
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