Help us open Espy Cafe!

Dear friends, family, neighbors and comrades!

I’m opening a cafe in Ann Arbor! It’ll be at 404 W Huron St, situated between the YMCA, West Park and the train tracks. The short story is that we’re raising money needed to complete construction. For the long story, read on!

s+p

Five years ago, Sam Schaefer and I started roasting coffee under the name espy (Sam+Peter = “s”+”p”). Our coffees come from a handful of smallholder projects around the world, and are imported by our friends at Semilla and Sundog . There’s a bunch of writing on our blog about the people we work with, the politics of coffee, even a little coffee science - definitely worth checking out for more context and background!

Growth

Over the last several years, espy has grown to mean much more than just s+p. The word espy means to catch a glimpse, and even though we still like mispronouncing it, both Sam and I have come to see espy as an entry point to a broader project. We truly believe that a better world is possible, and that we’d like to be a part of making it. Our horizon is egalitarian, it’s a world re-organized in the interest of the masses, and it’s one we can all start re-understanding and re-imagining now. I’ve been asking myself, “What am I good at? What do I want to learn? How do I start?”.

I imagine everyone has some version of these questions bouncing around their hearts. Many of life’s deepest questions are unanswerable, but I think these ones are imminently answerable! We can find the answers in the forest, while eating a perfect plum or while talking to an old friend on the phone. Sometimes, we find perfect clarity in a single moment, but I think often change trickles through us slowly, only visible in retrospect.

Maybe there are people who walk in a straight line to achieve the goals they set, one at a time, on schedule. But for me and everyone I’ve ever known and loved, life’s path is a messy tangle wrapped around our material conditions and knotted by our social relationships. I believe a better world is possible, and that it will change us - how we relate to the environment, each other and ourselves. I also know that it’s up to us to birth this better world, necessitating our growth even now. We need deep roots - alignment, cohesion, and collectivism in every form!

That is why I’d like to work at Espy Cafe.

Espy Cafe

Catching a glimpse of a better world - this sounds like a lofty ideal for a coffee shop. But I already see this happening! Every step of designing and constructing this cafe has been powered by an ineffable commitment of friends (new and old) to lofty ideals. I really tried to list all of the contributions so far, but it doubled the length of this writing!

To me, this is proof that the space will be incredibly beautiful. Yes, I’m excited about tasty espresso, local vegetables, whole-kernel flours, handmade furniture and ceramics, etc., etc.

Maybe more importantly, I’m excited about working in a democratically-managed, worker-owned (to the extent legally possible) cafe! Nothing fills me with more hope and joy than the collective investment into this project, and this ethos is already fully baked in.

On that note, here’s what we need to finish opening Espy Cafe.

Construction

“Our material analysis is that we need more materials” - Julia Knowles, LLMSW

This is a big project! The reason we picked this space is because it’s theoretically in an ideal location, walking distance to many Ann Arbor neighborhoods and downtown, with a good amount of parking for out of towners. The rent is also cheap, but that’s because the building is a big windowless block.

The plans for Espy Cafe include a glass entryway, big windows on the front and glass block windows on the back to let in light. We also need to cut the concrete floors for drains and install a new electrical panel. This is in addition to the regular power and water hookups for our ovens, sinks, coffee equipment, etc.

We do have a loan from the SBA that has funded most of our construction and equipment costs. But, as is typical for these sorts of projects, we’ve learned a lot about the building during the demolition phase. We’re raising funds to ensure that we’re able to finish construction on Espy Cafe and open our doors as soon as possible!

Estimated costs remaining:

$30,000 - construction (materials and labor)

$10,000 - initial inventory

$5,000 - initial hiring costs

If you’d like to talk more about the specifics of the project, get in touch! I’d be happy to walk you through the space and chat about our plans.

Thanks for everything, can’t wait to break bread with you all soon <3

Peter