project leader
Jeffrey L
location
16451 E. Warren Ave.
(Morningside)
latest update rss
Motor City Match Design Awardee!

the project

Morningside Cafe is a coffee, and entertainment venue located in Detroit's MorningSide neighborhood! Our goal is to provide the residents of the three contiguous communities of Cornerstone Village, East English Village (EEV), and MorningSide with their very own local coffee shop and community space. 

This venture will restore a missing amenity that has been absent for far too long within our community. This community asset will also assist in stimulating the neighborhood economy. Morningside Cafe will create jobs for residents of Cornerstone, EEV, and Morningside and provide educational and entrepreneurial opportunities for our youth. 

Every neighborhood deserves to have a gathering space where they can meet up with friends, have access to free wifi, and on top of that, have a refreshing cup of coffee and a delicious baked good! With Morningside Cafe, we will provide that and more! Our neighborhood has been without a spacwe of this nature for quite some time now and our neighbors usually have to travel to suburban communities such as the Grosse Pointes, or even as far as downtown and Midtown for their coffee needs or just a space to meet up with friends. We want to give our community that space where everyone can gather together and enjoy the atmosphere of a new, local coffee shop. With Morningside Cafe, we look forward to being your new, local coffee destination! 

the steps

My project is an awardee of Motor City Match (MCM), Detroit's premier small business grant and resource program that's designed to connect small businesses with brick and mortar locations, technical assistance, and grant funding up to $100,000. Our goal for this crowdfunding campaign is to raise $40,000. The funds will be utilized for our buildout, the purchase of coffee equipment (i.e. coffee makers, an espresso machine, coffee grinders, etc.) and to secure the matching grant needed from Motor City Match of $40,000 to open for business in early 2019.

why we're doing it

We're launching this venture because our community has lacked a coffee shop for well over a decade now. Unfortunately, we do not have that community space that our neighbors can meet up with friends or have access to free wi-fi. Far too often our hard-earned money is benefiting other communities, while ours continue to lack the important amenities that those thriving communities have. With Morningside Cafe, we look to curbed that trend so those dollars can remain within our communities of Cornerstone, East English Village, and MorningSide. This venture will generate economic growth, spur business development along the East Warren commercial corridor and play a major role in rejuvenating the community all at the same time.

I am extremely passionate about this project and excited about what it will do for our community. Having grown up in MorningSide, I vividly recall the days of East Warren being a thriving commercial corridor full of activity. The impact it had on our community was truly priceless as there was a sense of unity within all our communities. Our neighbors were united and often spending a signigficant amount of time together at an establishment on East Warren. This corridor was walkable and filled with pedestrians patronizing the variety of shops that once lined our historic avenue. With Morningside Cafe, we will be apart of restoring the excitement of patronizing small businesses along the E. Warren commercial corridor.  We will provide our patrons with nothing less than excellent customer service and the very best coffee money can buy in the city of Detroit. We look to create an atmosphere and space for all to enjoy, and most importantly we look to restore the pride of residents who reside within our communities of Cornerstone, EEV, and MorningSide!

budget

Disbursed Budget:

Simonelli High Volume Coffee Grinder (2x): $1,560.00

TOTAL RAISED = $1,640.00
ioby Platform Fee $35.00
ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) $49.20
TOTAL TO DISBURSE= $1,555.80

Original Budget:

Morningside Cafe is seeking to raise $40,000 that will go towards the purchase of equipment and the continuation of our storefront buildout. We will need to purchase items such as an automatic coffee maker, espresso machine, a coffee grinder, and a refrigerator system (i.e. Milk Cooler). To give you an idea of how much those items will cost, see the below expense item budget list:

Simonelli Aurelia Whole Bean Espresso Machine: $11,154.00

Simonelli High Volume Coffee Grinder (2x):             $1,560.00

Bun Twin Airpot Coffee Brewer:                               $1,100.00

Simonelli Thermolec Milk Cooler:                                $819.00

Solware Commercial Microwave:                                $359.00

Waring MX1500XTX Xtreme 3 1/2 hp Commercial Blender (2x): $770.00

Exterior & Interior Signage: $2,000.00

 

SUBTOTAL = 17,762
ioby Platform Fee $35
ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) $533
TOTAL TO RAISE = $18,330

 

updates

Motor City Match Design Awardee!

We are truly honored to be selected as an Motor City Match Design Awardee for round 12 of the program! With this award, we will receive both architectural and design assistance that will go towards our brick and mortar space. Once again, all thanks to Motor City Match!

Follow us on social media!

Stay up to date with the latest news from Morningside Cafe by following us at:

Facebook: morningsidecafedet
Instagram: morningsidecafe
Twitter: mscdetroit

Detroit SOUP Citywide and East Jefferson Neighborhood SOUP Winners!

The last couple of months has been extremely busy for Morningside Cafe! We won Detroit SOUP's Citywide SOUP on May 20th, then on June 10th, we won the East Jefferson SOUP! Once again we truly thank our supporters for believing in the vision we're creating for our community. Morningside Cafe will be a community space for all to enjoy! 

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

donors

  • Bee Davis
  • Rodney David Deal
  • Elena Fracassa
  • C Jones
  • Alicia
  • Nicole Justian
  • DAPR Development
  • Jacqueline Grant
  • Sharon Luckerman
  • Christopher Holyfield
  • Jermaine McCain
  • Anonymous
  • Greg M.
  • Joe Rashid
  • Joseph T.
  • Tina T.
  • Anonymous
  • Tamika H.
  • Eric L
  • Anonymous
  • Sheila Lewis
  • Jacqueline Perkins
  • Ken C
  • Joyce D.
  • Anonymous
  • JASON E TINSLEY
  • Alexander B.
  • Anonymous
  • Ian M.
  • Jeffrey L.
  • Anonymous