Grand Rapids · United States

Sparrows Coffee

Sparrows Coffee roasts in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Since 2007 · Lori Slager Wenzel

Overview

Sparrows opened on Grand Rapids's Wealthy Street in 2007 as The Stray Dog Cafe under Lori Slager (now Slager Wenzel) but was forced to rename a month later after a name conflict — settling on The Sparrows after a gifted woodblock print of a bird hung in the shop. After serving for almost a decade as a multi-roaster cafe (Madcap, Counter Culture, Heart, Four Barrel), Sparrows launched its own roasting program in 2016 on a Diedrich IR-7, then was acquired in 2018 by Schuil Coffee, which provided capital to scale the wholesale operation.

Known for

Long-running Grand Rapids specialty cafe (since 2007)
Started roasting in 2016 on a Diedrich IR-7
Acquired by Schuil Coffee (Grand Rapids family-owned roaster) 2018
Founder Lori Slager Wenzel co-founded the Creative Youth Center literary nonprofit
Bridge Street cafe + Books & Mortar children's bookstore partnership

Why it matters

Sparrows is one of the cleanest examples of a multi-roaster Midwest cafe maturing into a serious roastery while keeping its founder's literary-arts community-organizing identity intact — and its 2018 acquisition by Schuil Coffee illustrates the regional consolidation pattern playing out across the Midwest.

Production

roaster machine: Started on Diedrich IR-7 (2016); outgrew machine quickly post-Schuil acquisition
roastery location: 442 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI (with on-site cafe and Books & Mortar bookstore)

Café

Three Grand Rapids cafes: original Wealthy Street (Eastown), 442 Bridge St NW (West Side, with roastery + Books & Mortar), 2225 Plainfield Ave NE (inside Kingma's Market in Creston neighborhood)

Recognitions

Acquired by Schuil Coffee (2018)
Founder co-founded Creative Youth Center literary nonprofit

Sources

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