Profile - "The Coffee Cafe of Jackson, MI"

     Everyone’s a friend at The Coffee Cafe. The roughly 300 square foot trailer is located at 1513 Horton Road in Jackson, Michigan; thought it may be easier to search instead for a small yellow trailer neatly situated in front of Scruples Hair Design, at the intersection of Weatherwax and Horton Roads in Summit Township.

   
  The Coffee Cafe may be small, but business is big for owner of 15 years, Lonnie Bostwick. Even after 9:00 am on a Thursday morning, as most have already made their coffee stops on the way to work, Lonnie is continuously busy. She never stops moving, chatting, and enjoying her customers as much as they seem to enjoy her. As soft wordless music plays over the stereo, there is the warmth of a panini-maker, two humming refrigerators, and countless coffee grinders sufficiently claiming their needed space. With two windows to attend to at once, and as the sole worker, Lonnie still manages to sip her coffee and answer the questions of an earnest young reporter.

  Though it has been her home for 15 years, this was not always the way Lonnie planned to spend her years. Lonnie had been a buyer for 21 years, and when she lost her job she “wanted something different.” Acquiring the shop was not by dumb luck, but instead by a deliberate inquiry of the previous owners. “This was not for sale, I just asked him if he ever was thinking about selling, and he got back to me three months later, and I bought it from him.” But, don’t be fooled. Lonnie was not always a coffee connoisseur. “I bought this not knowing anything about coffee.” As if she sensed disbelief, she assured, “I did, I didn’t even know between a cappuccino and a latte, I really didn’t.”

  Fifteen years later, Lonnie now offers 15 different flavored coffees, homemade hot chocolate, smoothies, lattes, cappuccinos, donuts, bagels, and sandwiches - for breakfast and lunch. Lonnie orders her flavored coffees from Michigan-owned companies, and buys her donuts from the Jackson-owned Hinkley Bakery. “I try to do as much local as I can.”

The Coffee Cafe offers a unique atmosphere. Unlike many coffee joints, the cafe is a drive-up only place. Drive-thru windows more often provide a speedy alternative to walking in, and often result in a more detached feel. Lonnie’s place is far from impersonal.  She says, “And it is speedy, for people you don’t want to know, but when people come in here on a regular basis, you do become friends.” With these connections comes deep loyalty from her customers, and this loyalty might just be the reason for Lonnie’s 15 successful years and counting.

Lonnie has always been able to sustain her small business, but times have changed since she first began her venture. “The competition is more out there now, when I started there was only the Gourmet Bagel [another local coffee joint, which has since gone out of business], nothing else.” Now Jackson is home to chains such as Starbucks, Biggby, and Tim Hortons. Also heavy in competition with other local coffee shops is the powerhouse, Jackson Coffee Co. Lonnie had long had the advantage of a location in which there was little interaction with these competitors, but this quickly changed with the introduction of the Bearclaw Coffee Company.

The Coffee Cafe may have been in for trouble when one of the Bearclaw Coffee Company chain stores was opened down the street some years ago. A frequent customer of Lonnie’s, Deb Krajewski, said, “She was worried when Bearclaw came in.” The Bearclaw offered a space in which one could sit and enjoy their coffee, or study, read, chat with friends, as well as the lure of the quick drive-thru. Even with the Bearclaw’s seemingly more personal feel, the loyalty of Lonnie’s customers rang true in it’s success, and perhaps the eventual failure and closing of the Bearclaw.

Deb Krajewski gives insight into the reasons for this loyalty, “She has relationships with all her customers. She knows everybody’s names, she knows their families.” In watching Lonnie bounce around the small kitchen of the trailer, laughing and chatting with her beloved customers, it is not difficult to see such intimate relationships forming. Everyone is “hunnie” or “sweetie,” she knows who was sick yesterday, who will be back tomorrow, and what they will want to eat or drink.

Not only does Lonnie’s friendliness attribute to her customer’s loyalty, but also it’s locality. Deb says, “I don’t feel that in a big city she would have survived. People in Jackson are pretty loyal to home-grown businesses.” Maybe it’s just her coffee. Steve and Teresa Schramm seem to think so; “We’re loyal customers. She always treats us great - she goes above and beyond.” Teresa is quick to add, “Plus it’s the best coffee in town!”