The origins of coffee can be traced to Ethiopia, as far back as the 9th century. And while the roots of the commodity can be credited to African farmers and producers, the coffee industry has largely gotten away from the Black community. Beans are often associated with South America, the Dutch have popularized the instant coffee brands Americans have become most familiar with and café culture centers on Italian espresso traditions.
Local coffee roasters are aiming to reclaim Black coffee culture by sourcing from Black producers. They’re also creating spaces with Black consumers in mind. In addition to coffee, they’re surveying Black customers to understand their needs and meeting those demands through menu offerings, programming and services.
Here are 10 Black-owned coffee shops doing the work.
Café Noir
Located in Detroit’s North End neighborhood, Café Noir is a quaint coffee shop where white walls are a canvas for paintings by a rotation of local artists. A small menu of drip and espresso-based coffees and tea is complemented with a selection of pastries and packaged snacks. The Curated Locally program, a wall of products made by community members, showcases Café Noir’s support of its neighbors. Try adding a spoon of Lion’s Brain Honey ― golden honey infused with lion’s mane mushrooms ― to your next cup of joe. Additionally, attached to the café is a gallery where art exhibits are held, as well as a series of events from fashion pop-ups to yoga classes.
9405 John R St., Detroit. 313-489-1301; cafenoir.coffee
Cred Café
By day, Cred Café is an ideal place for remote workers seeking refuge from a stuffy home office or sterile cubicle. The café is polished, with sleek seating arrangements and a simple menu of coffee, morning spirits — an espresso martini or mimosa — a honey-roasted turkey sandwich and a turkey bacon salad with red onions, tomatoes and feta; and a breakout area complete with a comfortable couch and plush seats for small working groups. After hours, a barista will usher you into Say Less Speakeasy, a lofty bar and lounge hidden behind an unassuming bookshelf just past the café register. There, you’ll sip stiff cocktails, nosh on bites of savory flatbreads and watch a Lions game or a political debate. The multipurpose space is located in Detroit’s Rivertown neighborhood, steps from the Riverfront, and brought to you by former NBA players Joe and Jordan Crawford.
6340 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit. 313-262-6479; credcafedetroit.com
Detroit Sip
Attorney Jevona Fudge says she found solace in a coffee shop during her days as a law student studying for the bar exam — it was livelier than a library, without being too distracting. In 2017, she turned the pastime into a passion project, opening Detroit Sip for community members looking for the same comfort and convenience that she sought all those years ago. For the menu at the coffee shop, which she opened in her own neighborhood on Livernois Avenue on the city’s West Side, Fudge drew inspiration from Detroit’s rich history. Here, a traditional latte is named the Livernois Latte, a cappuccino is the Coleman Cappuccino, after Detroit’s first Black mayor, Coleman A. Young, and a mocha is the Motown Mocha. On any given day, you’ll find both community organizers and organization members congregating over beverages at Detroit Sip.
7420 W. McNichols Detroit. 313-635-5130; detroitsip.com
Eastside Roasterz
Since becoming a Motor City Match grant recipient in 2023, café founders Tiff and Riss Dezort have operated Eastside Roasterz as a pop-up. The married couple has served foamy lattes and fruity Italian sodas out of bookstores, such as Next Chapter Books on Detroit’s East Side, beloved pie shop Sister Pie, and the East Warren Avenue Farmers Market. The Dezorts also welcome customers to join the Blend of the Month Club, a monthly membership-based service that allows you to taste a 12-oz. bag of a featured bean blend and two samples of blends that are still in development, offering an opportunity for you to weigh in on flavors for just $25 a month.
Visit eastsideroasterz.com to find Eastside Roasterz’ next stop.
Hold Me Closer XX
What started as a coffee cart from the mind of video producer Indy Nyles has now grown into a members-only club for creatives — who happen to have a taste for coffee and tea lattes. Since developing the coffee program at Yum Village, where Nyles crafted coffee beverages infused with Afro-Caribbean flavors like lattes flavored with buttered rum and scotch bonnets, Hold Me Closer XX is now located inside the Corktown production studio 1301 Studios. Guests have the option to select monthly memberships that offer coffee beverages in addition to studio access and the production utilities and workshops it offers. Unlike most area cafés, the coffee shop is not designed for the early bird, but rather night owl creatives who work into the wee hours, open from 1:01 p.m.-1:01 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 6 p.m.-1:01 a.m. on Sundays.
Visit thirteenohone.com for membership fees.
Morningside Café
As its name suggests, Morningside Café is located in Detroit’s Morningside neighborhood, which has seen a slew of culinary developments in recent years. The coffee shop has become a go-to for far east side Detroiters who have long traveled to neighboring Grosse Pointe for a nearby caffeine fix. In the buildout of the space, owner Jeffrey D. Lewis II included resources such as a conference room and printer for community members who might be in need, in addition to the café’s coffee, smoothie and pastry offerings. Lewis says the printer, especially, has been a hit.
16369 E. Warren Ave., Ste. C, Detroit. 313-542-9604; coffeexvibes.com
Sepia Coffee Project
Martell Mason pours his vast experience as a coffee trader in places like Turkey, Korea and Ethiopia into Sepia Coffee Project, a Milwaukee Junction café and roaster. The rustic café, which took over the former Gathering Coffee space on E. Grand Boulevard, brews drip coffees and espresso-based beverages using beans sourced from Brazil to Ethiopia and Colombia to India. Each coffee collection at Sepia — Paradise, Blk Bottom and Harmonie — is inspired by a historically Black Detroit neighborhood, including Paradise Valley, Black Bottom and Harmonie Park. In September, Mason launched a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of raising $50,000 to help rehab Sepia’s Highland Park roastery, where he hopes the business will operate before the end of 2026.
2831 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit. sepiacoffeeproject.com
Simply Roasted
An ode to Geraldine Harris, owner Erin Apacanis’ late mother, Simply Roasted is a family-oriented café built on sentimental value and nostalgia. Harris, who was a home baker, inspired the fresh-baked pastries sold at the café. Apacanis, a retired Detroit educator, was granted $50,000 from Motor City Match to open Simply Roasted in summer 2025. The Midtown café offers an extensive menu of beverages, including various coffees, slushes and a frozen white chocolate.
Address 4240 Cass Ave., No. 107 Detroit. 313-502-5799; simplyroasteddetroit.com
The Roost
Woodbridge residents have it pretty good. Their streets are lined with lush trees and their Victorian homes are like doll houses, painted in pastels and boasting masterful woodwork that draws crowds of admirers. When it opened in 2020, The Roost made the neighborhood even more charming. Along with the usual coffee and tea offerings, the shop is best known for its apothecary-style pastry chest filled with sweet and savory treats, including strawberry-flavored rice bars and a range of bagel varieties. But it also moonlights as a grocery, selling household staples like milk and eggs, as well as a bottle shop where you can find your favorite wine.
1541 W. Canfield St., Detroit. 313-953-8553; theroostdetroitcafe.com
Rosa
When she surveyed residents of North Rosedale Park on the coffee shop they’d like to see in their neighborhood, owner Charity Dean heard from 275 Detroiters. She worked to implement their requests, and in 2022, what resulted was Rosa ― a space the team refers to as “Grandma’s House,” for its nod to Dean’s great-grandmother from whom the café inherited its name, and the quintessential living room of many Black grandmothers. At Rosa, the décor is colorful and feminine, plastic lines the throw pillows and a bowl of candy sits at the register — the trademark of a good church granny. At Rosa, guests come for coffee and stay for a connection to fellow community members. The café’s liquor license allows you to order your espresso in a macchiato or martini, depending on your mood. Visit the original location, or Rosa’s newest spot on the Riverfront.
Visit detroitrosa.com for locations.
Contact Detroit Free Press Dining and Restaurant Critic Lyndsay C. Green at: LCGreen@freepress.com. Follow @LadyLuff on Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for extras and insider scoops on Detroit-area dining.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 10 Black-owned coffee shops and roasters in Detroit
Reporting by Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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