Coffee shops are a crucial part of a community, providing social settings, gathering places, and spaces for meetings. They’re a place to create connections and build relationships with staff, customers and neighborhoods.
They also hold space for many ideas, concepts, and visions too — serving as community catalysts.
In the rural community of Eaton Rapids, BlackDog Coffee has created that space in the town of 5,000 since opening on West Hamlin Street a few years ago.
Owner Lisa Barna always considered herself community-minded, whether it was a career in economic development or as an entrepreneur. Having spent time in Eaton Rapids while growing up and visiting her grandparents, she knew the Eaton County town provided a perfect setting for a community-building venture.
“Eaton Rapids has a beautiful community feel, and the people here really support small businesses and support their downtown,” she says. “I already knew that culture was here, we knew we would be welcomed in, and it’s been just a wonderful experience from day one being part of this community.”
Despite her success and family’s long ties to the building housing the coffee shop, Barna has decided to let go of BlackDog Coffee.
Owosso-based Foster Coffee Co., whose mission is to foster community through coffee, will take over BlackDog Coffee in the spring.
Although the transition will bring changes, Foster Coffee is no stranger to BlackDog customers. They’ve been enjoying the coffee roastery’s products since day one. There’s also a similar overarching goal of both businesses that puts Barna at ease, knowing the two companies have the same heart and mission.
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Brian WellsLisa Barna, left, poses for a portrait with Nicholas Pidek in the former BlackDog Coffee shop in Eaton Rapids.
“I’ve seen the different events and things they’ve put on in Owosso and East Lansing, and I can just see how community-minded they are,” Barna says. “The conversations they’ve had with our staff on how to support Eaton Rapids and make the shop individual for this community — they’re really trying to make the Eaton Rapids' location have its own flair and I just appreciate that so much.”
Looking back
BlackDog Coffee’s mission has been to provide coffee for the betterment and development of the community, offering residents and visitors a space to come together. The coffee shop’s impact has been much bigger than its small size suggests.
“I feel our footprint in downtown is intentionally larger than an average coffee shop, because we want to be more than just the place that serves coffee,” Barna says. “We want to be a place where people meet and gather.”
And it has been. The local chapters of the Rotary Club, Lions Club, Girl Scouts and a local women’s club meet at the shop. The Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly breakfasts there. And then there are the cards and Dungeons & Dragons groups.
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Brian WellsOn any given day, the coffee shop doubles as a conference room, library, an event rental space, or any other need the community requests.
Barna is proud of all the work the small business has accomplished, but also felt like there was room for growth.
“I know there is another level to business development and growth that I just wasn’t hitting and achieving with the shop,” she says. “At that point, I began looking to see what we could do, how we could grow. Foster Coffee Co. ended up being a really awesome answer for that because they can put a lot more investment into the shop.”
Foster Coffee’s plans include building out a kitchen to make in-house breakfast and bakery items and providing more jobs to local residents.
“When I was able to take myself out of the equation, I knew what Foster could bring to this community and I know that Eaton Rapids deserves what they can bring us,” Barna says. “It’s a no-brainer for me that this is where BlackDog needs to go next.”
Although the business wasn’t necessarily at a point of closure, in Barna’s gut, she knew her coffee shop could be bigger and better. She simply didn’t have the capacity to elevate, innovate, and grow it more.
Transitioning to Foster Coffee Co.
February 12 marked the last official day of BlackDog Coffee, as Foster Coffee. Co co-owner Nicholas Pidek took the keys from Barna.
Barna recalls when she was struggling with all of the required, stressful tasks to prepare for the opening BlackDog a few years ago and the kindness she felt from the community. One local building department head installed the shop’s exit sign so the space would be ready for the grand opening.
It’s those acts of kindness and lending a helping hand that bring a tear to Barna’s eyes.
It’s also reflective of how much of a big impact a small town coffee shop can have on its surroundings, especially when it has a local focus rather than that of a national or international chain like Starbucks or Dunkin’, she says.
“I’m a huge advocate and believe that rural communities are deserving of beautiful, incredible experiences, places and developments,” Barna says. “I think there are a lot of opportunities in urban centers for access to art, culture and community. In rural communities, you don’t always get that.
“At BlackDog, we would host free watercolor paint classes once a month, cookie decorating classes, and yoga every Saturday morning. I believe rural communities deserve just as much access to all of these programs and social opportunities you get in urban settings.”
Courtney Mead, executive director of the Eaton Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, describes Eaton Rapids as a tightknit and welcoming town and believes places like local coffee shops are crucial for building this type of community.
“BlackDog Coffee is a gathering hub for the community,” she says. “It’s kind of that place you start and stop at when you're in town for events and activities going on.”
There’s a certain balancing act required to maintain the quaintness of a small town, while also still welcoming and embracing innovation.
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The Matteson Photography“Eaton Rapids is really easy to promote in the fact that they do have the new and upcoming businesses, but they’re also very mindful of respecting their heritage and where they came from — that community pride when it comes to the history of the community, and blending in businesses that our residents need everyday,” Mead says.
Although Barna will miss seeing regulars in the coffee shop everyday, she’s not going anywhere and plans to remain active in the community. After some much-needed rest, she will continue to help the chamber and enjoy activities around town.
Foster’s formula
Nicholas Pidek, co-founder and CEO of Foster Coffee Co., is excited to start spending time in the former BlackDog Coffee shop and to connect with the Eaton Rapids community.
In Owosso, Foster Coffee originated out of an idea Pidek and his co-founder, Jon Moore, had when they saw many of their friends leaving the community, saying there was nothing there for them.
“We decided to say, ‘Hey, instead of just leaving, what could we do to make this community better? How could we dig in our heels and do something we like and love?’ That’s when we merged the passions of coffee, business, and our community. I wanted to grow deeper roots here rather than just leave.”
After financing equipment on their credit cards and launching a booth at a local farmers’ market in 2014, the brewing business opened a brick-and-mortar space a year later.
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The Matteson Photography.Inside one of the other Foster Coffee Co. shops. Customers like the warm vibe.Their mission has remained the same — to foster community through coffee.
“Coffee shops are generally places where community happens, but we want to take a more intentional approach in terms of how we do that,” Pidek says. “It’s really driven by focusing on people. We believe relationships are at the center of community.”
Whether these relationships are with customers, staff, partnerships, or Michigan vendors, these small choices make a big difference.
Looking to expand, Pidek began conducting preliminary research four years ago. He learned about Barna and her desire to start a coffee shop in Eaton Rapids. The two met up and looked over Barna’s plans and found a good partnership.
“We thought, ‘Hey, this actually works really well, instead of a Foster, why don’t we help you on the coffee side of things with our wholesale relationship and partnership?’ So we helped her build her coffee program, equipment, bar layout and supported her in that way, which we do with a bunch of other shops and businesses around the state,” he says.
Over the past decade, Foster has had three locations (including a former Flint spot), and Pidek feels he has a good read on different types of communities. This is the first time the company has purchased a cafe, but Barna’s business made for a good fit.
“Lisa’s paved the way of utilizing the BlackDog space as a place where people can come and rent it,” he says. “If we can either maintain a space like this or create a space like this in a rural community, I think it will have a larger impact than another coffee shop going into East Lansing, Detroit, Ann Arbor, or another large city.”
Some staff members plan to stay with Foster. Renovations are planned for the end of February and March, with an anticipated early April opening. Locals are excited a coffee shop will continue at the location.
“To some extent, most people are aware of Foster – just being 25 minutes north of there – so there’s some trust and credibility,” he says. “There’s a sense that we’re from Michigan and here, and once they get to know our background and story — if they don’t know it – they get a sense of our heartbeat.”
For Foster, it’s about the core values of community and human connection.
The coffee and the food will be familiar when Foster’s reopens in the space. The renovations are meant as an update to the business – there is no intent to be like a franchise and replicate the original store. The shop will be reflective of the community.
In the future, he hopes to continue to expand locations and have 20 Foster coffee shops, as well as help other brands and businesses continue to elevate and uplift their existing customers and communities.
“Foster believes that small town communities are great opportunities to foster community, sometimes to an even greater impact than larger cities,” Pidek says. “We love that we can be part of helping this people-focused business continue and thrive in rural communities, like our original location in Owosso.”
Sarah Spohn is a Lansing native, but every day finds a new interesting person, place, or thing in towns all over Michigan, leaving her truly smitten with the mitten. She received her degrees in journalism and professional communications and provides coverage for various publications locally, regionally, and nationally — writing stories on small businesses, arts and culture, dining, community, and anything Michigan-made. You can find her in a record shop, a local concert, or eating one too many desserts at a bakery. If by chance, she’s not at any of those places, you can contact her at sarahspohn@issuemediagroup.com.