Shinola Cafe

Shinola - 441 W. Canfield St.

For today's blog I'm featuring Shinola Cafe in midtown Detroit. You might be thinking, "wait, isn't that a watch store?" and you would be right. They are a Detroit based company that makes watches, bikes, leather goods, journals and jewelry.

They opened in 2011 with a watch factory in Detroit and released their first watch, "The Runwell", in 2013. With their mission of bringing more jobs to Detroit, each piece is hand assembled and made with the most advanced technology, ensuring that each watch is beautiful and built to last. Now they have thirty-two locations across North America and one in London, England.

Kyle and I have been following this company and their story since they opened and fell in love with their watches. This was right around the time we opened Anchor. We decided that we would set some business goals for ourselves and after a year of business if we accomplished them we would reward ourselves with a watch. Well, guess what, we hit those goals and for Christmas 2014 we each bought ourselves a beautiful Shinola watch!

I'm proud to wear my Shinola and every time I look at it it reminds me of how far we've come and how much we've accomplished. It's a good reminder to me of our humble beginnings and that with hard work, perseverance, and the support of each other we can make a small dream to open a coffee shop a reality.

So, needless to say, this company has some sentimental value to me. I love walking through their flagship location in midtown Detroit and seeing the latest designs. They also have inpeccable customer service and their staff are always friendly and personable. You get the feeling immediately walking in that they love working there.

Ok, let's get to the coffee bar. It's located at the front of the store with a small seating area and free wifi. They feature a few different coffee roasters and offer a small pastry case with baked goods from local bakeries, such as Sisterpie and Avalon Bakery.

I ordered a cortado and a chocolate chunk cookie - both were top notch!

I highly recommend this cafe - the service is always great, the coffee is tasty and well-prepared, and the space is beautiful.