New York City's Roasting Plant to Open First Shop Outside NYC in Downtown Detroit

**AGinthe313** · May-09-12, 10:07 AM

A little bit of good news today...

In-store bean roasting company brings wide selection of brewed-by-the-cup coffee to Rock Ventures' First National Building.

Roasting Plant's first floor retail location, situated on the foot of Campus Martius Park, will feature onsite roasting and both indoor and outdoor seating.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/150763945.html

**Flintoid** · May-09-12, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by AGinthe313

A little bit of good news today...

In-store bean roasting company brings wide selection of brewed-by-the-cup coffee to Rock Ventures' First National Building.

Roasting Plant's first floor retail location, situated on the foot of Campus Martius Park, will feature onsite roasting and both indoor and outdoor seating.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/150763945.html

Beat me to it! Anyway, this is great news. Downtown has been lacking in coffee shops for a while, but hopefully this opening and Chez Zara opening in the M@dison building will help. Dan Gilbert just keeps it going. Anyone know a way we can clone that guy?

**Danny** · May-09-12, 10:26 AM

YAY Dan Gilbert!

You're brining some N.Y.C. coffee plant to your Gilberttown area.

APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE!

Now can you please bring an Apple Store to one of your rehabbled buildings in the former Telenews [[Club Bleu Building) in Woodward. I would be appeciated.

Dan Gilbert for Mayor of Detroit 2021

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · May-09-12, 10:51 AM

On the one hand its just a coffee place, but on the other I never thought I'd see the day that any place from NYC would decide its first venture out of NY would be to Detroit! Glad its going to be in the First National. Having had two jobs there, I have a special fondness for that building. Even though I hated one of the jobs....

**dmike76** · May-09-12, 10:59 AM

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...roit-this-fall

**iheartthed** · May-09-12, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

I never thought I'd see the day that any place from NYC would decide its first venture out of NY would be to Detroit!

I'd bet money that the owners have ties to Detroit.

Great way to get free publicity from navel gazing local media. It's not like this place is the absolute premier of Manhattan coffee shops or anything. It's just another coffee shop in a city with hundreds of them.

**BasementBeat** · May-09-12, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I'd bet money that the owners have ties to Detroit.

Bingo.

"We are very excited to introduce the Roasting Plant experience to other parts of the country, so we jumped at the chance to open our first non-New York shop in the heart of resurging downtown Detroit," said Elizabeth Rose of Roasting Plant, a former Detroiter who used to run the halls of the First National Building as a

child

.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz1uOElQT1v

Keep filling in those spaces.
Hope they convince some of their NYC business friends to join them...

**rb336** · May-09-12, 11:31 AM

I'd like to see their roasting contraption operate

**DetroitScooter** · May-09-12, 11:43 AM

It's good news, but I'll be sticking with 1515 on Broadway.

**AGinthe313** · May-09-12, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitScooter

It's good news, but I'll be sticking with 1515 on Broadway.

Agree - good news, I'll keep using my speedy rewards card for some good old fashion gas station coffee – cheap and always hot! Speedy on Jefferson rocks, plus the morning staff is always smiling and very friendly!

**downtownguy** · May-09-12, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I'd bet money that the owners have ties to Detroit.It's not like this place is the absolute premier of Manhattan coffee shops or anything. It's just another coffee shop in a city with hundreds of them.

Have you been in their shops? I ask because as has been discussed on the Germack thread, enjoying fresh roasted coffee is another animal entirely. I have been home roasting coffee for about 7 years now, and there is a big difference in fresh roasted. The reason for that is coffee begins to go stale after about 2 days. Even if it's hermetically sealed, it loses flavor. Until a market began to develop for fresh roasting, most of the coffee we've become accustomed to is stale coffee -- we just didn't know it.

The savviest coffee shops have realized this and now Great Lakes Coffee and others like them have been filling this ever growing niche market by serving these shops with fresh roasted coffee.

I wouldn't characterize this as just another coffee shop with a new gimmick. Give 'em a try when they open and see if you don't notice a distinct difference.

**cpanagio** · May-09-12, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by AGinthe313

Agree - good news, I'll keep using my speedy rewards card for some good old fashion gas station coffee – cheap and always hot! Speedy on Jefferson rocks, plus the morning staff is always smiling and very friendly!

I agree. Some of the friendliest people around.

It would be nice if this place actually stays open past 5pm. Most coffee houses in the city shut down when the workers hit the freeways to go home.

**iheartthed** · May-09-12, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by downtownguy

Have you been in their shops? I ask because as has been discussed on the Germack thread, enjoying fresh roasted coffee is another animal entirely. I have been home roasting coffee for about 7 years now, and there is a big difference in fresh roasted. The reason for that is coffee begins to go stale after about 2 days. Even if it's hermetically sealed, it loses flavor. Until a market began to develop for fresh roasting, most of the coffee we've become accustomed to is stale coffee -- we just didn't know it.

The savviest coffee shops have realized this and now Great Lakes Coffee and others like them have been filling this ever growing niche market by serving these shops with fresh roasted coffee.

I wouldn't characterize this as just another coffee shop with a new gimmick. Give 'em a try when they open and see if you don't notice a distinct difference.

No, I haven't been into their coffee shop, but I sincerely wish them the best of luck in Detroit. I hope they are open for at least 80 years. However, the fawning over a coffee shop from the "big city" opening up a location in Detroit is not very interesting.

Or is Detroit really that hungry where it's tripping over itself for news that would get a yawn in most other large cities? They are just another indistinct Manhattan coffee shop. It's not and iconic piece of Manhattan. This would be the equivalent of a Detroit gas station owner opening up a gas station in Manhattan, and having the NY Daily News and NY Post write up stories about it. That said, I do wish them a lot of success in Detroit.

**stasu1213** · May-09-12, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

No, I haven't been into their coffee shop, but I sincerely wish them the best of luck in Detroit. I hope they are open for at least 80 years. However, the fawning over a coffee shop from the "big city" opening up a location in Detroit is not very interesting.

Or is Detroit really that hungry where it's tripping over itself for news that would get a yawn in most other large cities? They are just another indistinct Manhattan coffee shop. It's not and iconic piece of Manhattan. This would be the equivalent of a Detroit gas station owner opening up a gas station in Manhattan, and having the NY Daily News and NY Post write up stories about it. That said, I do wish them a lot of success in Detroit.

I am glad that another coffee shop[[that would probably stay open after 6pm and on open on weekends) is openening in the campus martius area. It gives the area a more worker/family friendly atmosphere. I would rather here news about a coffee shop opening than another bar/club opening in the area. You can't compare downtown Detroit to Downtown Manahattan.