After more than 5 years of planning, fundraising, and envisioning opening the HAS HEART Coffee Shop, the historic stone building is beginning to take shape with fresh drywall and exterior patio work underway.
For the past 10+ years, we’ve only had 1-month pop-up shops and exhibits to share our mission, showcase the HERO[series] projects and VOICES projects, and generate revenue to fund the next year’s project. We’ve relied on a small team of volunteers and have kept our liabilities and expenses to a minimum.
More than 12 years after our founders, Michael and Tyler, met over a cup of coffee, we’re 12-14 weeks away from serving our own coffee (via Madcap Coffee Co.) within a historic building on the grounds of Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Grand Rapids, MI.
The exterior has also been coming together. The back patio and sidewalks have all been paved. The next steps are to bring the original granite blocks and pavers from the previously remodeled Veterans Memorial Park fountain back into the park.
The front metal crates that have locked away the stairs have been removed and will be filled in to create additional outdoor seating in front.
While it’s been disappointing not to meet our Memorial Day or July 4th holiday goals to be open, we understand the importance of doing the job well. We appreciate the many hands and generous partners who have gotten HAS HEART this far, and we can’t wait to begin serving the community soon.
While there is still plenty more work to be done, none of this would be possible without the help of several partners, organizations, foundations, and individual contributors, including:
Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation
Downtown Development Authority
Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Pfeiffer-Lincoln Foundation
Michigan Arts & Culture Council
Anonymous Donor
For more updates, be sure to follow HAS HEART on Instagram and Facebook, sign-up for our newsletter, and bookmark the Coffee Shop page for more info over the coming months.
