New Fowlerville coffee roastery brings community back to historic building
FOWLERVILLE — A new coffee shop and roastery in Fowlerville has completed phases as a mobile trailer and an online business.
On Saturday, July 29, Good Deeds Coffee Bar celebrated a brick-and-mortar grand opening at 115 E. Grand River Ave. in the village.
Brothers-in-law Dan Belanger and Brandon Denby launched the business in 2019 as a coffee trailer sometimes parked at Tanger Outlets in Howell. The company pivoted to online sales during the pandemic, selling roasted coffee beans by the bag to customers across the country and offering a monthly subscription service.
The new shop is located at the center of Fowlerville in a historic building previously occupied by Grille in the Ville, which closed in 2020 shortly after the pandemic shuttered indoor dining.
Denby, who is also Livingston County's Register of Deeds, said they didn't plan on opening a brick-and-mortar store — at least, not at first. But roasting coffee out of the trailer, he said, was a challenge.
"The roaster needed a home more than we needed a retail space," he said. "This gives it a home, and people can come see and taste test."
"What I didn't realize was how much the community wanted something like this," he added.
Belanger's wife, Angela Denby Belanger, helps promote the store. She said the team wanted to bring something to Fowlerville that would benefit the community.
"We're from Fowlerville, and our heart strings are in Fowlerville," she said.
Belanger, the roast master of the group, said he and his wife have lived in different cities over the years. When they moved back to the area, he had trouble finding coffee with his favorite flavor profiles.
"I like a nice, strong flavor, so I was always gravitating to that type of coffee," he said.
After deciding to start a coffee business, he said, the duo considered going pre-roasted.
"But I found out what it costs to buy coffee from other companies, and we weren't going to make money," Belanger said. "We said, 'Why don't we get a small coffee roaster and try?' We were getting delicious coffee."
The menu, all made in-house, includes roasted coffee, single origin pour-overs, nitro-infused energy drinks and signature teas. They also carry craft beers, wine, Jameson Irish coffee and spirits, including some from Michigan-based companies.
Artisan baked goods are made in-house by local baker Tessa Corbat of Sweet Tess.
"She's taken ahold of all that, and she's put us on the map as a bakery," Denby Belanger said.
Good Deeds Coffee Bar also serves sandwiches, salads, soups, donuts and avocado toast, among other menu items.
The shop's soft opening was in June. Renovations include ripping up the flooring to expose the antique tile the team believes was there when the building was a confections and ice cream shop founded by George Spagnuolo.
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The coffee shop also features an antique coffee grinder as a décor item, once in Pearce's Store of Oak Grove. Denby's family owned that business for generations.
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: New Fowlerville coffee roastery brings community back to historic building
