KALAMAZOO, MI — Ethical coffee and a European vibe. That’s the vision behind Factory Coffee’s latest location in downtown Kalamazoo.
The newest iteration of the business, located at the southwest corner of South Rose and West Lovell streets, opened to the public on July 21.
Open from 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily, the business has a few quirks about it that give it a different feel from the original Factory Coffee location, located on 213 E. Frank St.
For starters, the location on West Lovell Street has a full kitchen, something the East Frank shop does not have. In addition, the downtown spot — which anchors the new, modern 400 Rose apartment building — will soon be offering a classic cocktail and limited beer menu.
Dan Kastner, who co-owns the shop with his wife Emmy, said that they will offer one beer on tap, most likely a local craft brew, and a handful of other options under the bar.
“It comes back to that European model, where you have coffee and one beer that is very universal and palpable,” he said. “We don’t want to be a bar. We just want to have good beverages.”
The coffee shop with a simple, yet classic feel and menu, offers what Dan Kastner calls “a very curated, Italian list of 10-11 drinks” as well as a single-origin, house-made, nitro cold brew on tap. There is also a variety of breakfast items daily, highlighted by scratch-made bagel sandwiches.
And on Sundays, there is a brunch menu that features items such as Factory biscuits and gravy, cinnamon buns, yogurt and granola, crispy taters, as well as a breakfast sandwich with grilled tomato, bacon, egg, goat cheese, arugula and caramelized onion on Sarkozy’s oatmeal bread.
“We had been talking for 10 years about opening a restaurant called Sunday Brunch that’s only open on Sundays, but that’s not a very sustainable model,” Emmy Kastner said with a smile. “But now we have that.”
Factory Coffee, which began roasting with a zero-emissions roaster at its East Frank Street location in 2019, prides itself on being ethically conscious and only partnering with fair trade companies.
“Everyone deserves good coffee and good coffee starts on the farm,” Dan Kastner said. “Every coffee that we pick and roast is both excellent, cups at 90% or higher, but it also has a really good story.”
Stories don’t start and stop with the coffee for the Kastners, either.
Emmy Kastner is the co-founder of Read and Write Kalamazoo, a nonprofit that was launched out of the original Factory Coffee location that helps expand creative writing opportunities for area youth. On top of that, she’s also a children’s author who just released a fictional, picture book called “The Very Big Fall” as well as the latest two books in her “Nerdy Babies” series, “Insects” and “Rain Forests.”
Read and Write Kalamazoo, Factory Coffee, and Dan Kastner’s former moped business, 1977 Mopeds, are all symbolic of who the couple is.
“We have the mindset of if where you live is not exactly how you want it to be, you can change that,” Dan Kastner said. “That’s a real thing. Every community has things you really love and you wish it had. We’ve been risk-adverse enough to give it a shot.”
For more information, visit factorycoffee.co, call or follow Factory Coffee on Facebook or Instagram. In addition to the new downtown location at 205 W. Lovell St., Factory Coffee is also located at 213 E. Frank St. and inside the People’s Food Co-op at 507 Harrison St.
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