[The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail]

Greetings all. I am posting to finally tell you that we will be soft opening tomorrow. We'll be open 8am - 11pm and we're planning on having live music tomorrow night and just celebrating our first night in business. If you're downtown stop in and see what we've done with the place. cheers.

[The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail]

Some pics from our renovations.

[The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail]

Well, we're shooting for end of November and you'll start seeing a lot of work on the inside next week. In the meantime, if you are jonesin for some coffee we have a spro machine hooked up and would love to talk and pour some latte art for ya'll. We're there during the day most days and will probably be out on the sidewalk given out coffee. Come say hi.

~Trevor

P.S. For regular updates you can check out www.madcapblog.com

Activity seen inside MadCap (the former Two Choppers) the other night. Equipment and people.

When's the big day?

[The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail]

Ah, no to the clover. I lost all hope in the Clover when the big green monster bought them out a few months back.

Don't get me wrong I still love a good cup of clover coffee, I had a clover cup of Tanzanian from Intelly last week actually. But I believe it was Dwayne from Stumptown Coffee that said, "I have yet to start giving my money to Starbucks and I'm not going to start now."

However, we are planning on doing all french press, no drip. We've been working/toying with this idea for a while and have talked to a few others that do it. Including Stumptown out in Portland. We're going to brew french press and filter the presses into airpots for dispensing. Sounds like a lot of work I know but we feel it will definitely be worth it from a flavor quality standpoint. I'm really excited about it actually. I just finished cupping some of the coffees we're going to be offering and they are stellar. Can't wait to share them with you all.

[The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail]

Especially because Four Friends had delicious gelato that is now gone.

So, MadCap will open right near Local Mocha, and a new coffee shop will open where Four Friends was located? Is there no limit on the amount of coffee shops we have in a two-block radius? Off the top of my head, I can think of West Coast Coffee, Bite, Beaners, Starbucks, MadCap, and the Four Friends replacement.

I like coffee shops (especially if they are open on Sunday!), but there are like 100 other uses for the Monroe Center storefront vacancies (e.g. CVS, clothing store, video rental, music store, etc.), why won't any other entrepreneurs enter the downtown market? I assume it's pricey and only certain uses work with certain storefronts, but still. . . if the market conditions are not making downtown a destination spot, are there incentives the city can provide that will help with this?

Well Parhelion, I do have to say you're right. Coffee shops tend to continually pop up all over the place. I think you'll see that once we're established we will slow that trend. MadCap will be serving and presenting coffee in a way that few in Grand Rapids, or Western Michigan for that matter, have seen. We're really passionate about coffee. We're passionate about who's growing the coffee, how they're processing it, and what they are being paid for it. We're determined to present that coffee in a way that shows the utmost respect for those that have worked so hard to produce it for us. Lastly, we're determined to open the eyes of all who try our coffee to the wonderful nuances and character that coffee has to offer. For us coffee is not consumed as a means to getting a buzz but an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful citrus notes of a good Kenyan coffee or the sweet blueberry notes of a great Ethiopian. A cappuccino is not a 20oz drink with foam so thick you wonder where the coffee is at but a 6oz drink with foam as smooth as silk and with the perfect blend of milk and espresso that tastes of chocolate and berries. With all that being said, I hope we aren't catagorized as just another coffee shop.

Oh, and Parhelion, keep your eyes open for that ice cream.

[The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail]

We hope so. You can stay updated on our progress here MadCap Blog or for general info MadCap's website. We'll keep you all posted. cheers.