Foster Coffee celebrates new renovations with open house in Flint

FLINT, Michigan — Foster Coffee Company’s mission is to foster community through coffee. The Owosso-based business has expanded to include shops in Flint and East Lansing, creating connections in each community, neighborhood, and city they build in. Their Flint location, which opened in November 2017, recently underwent interior renovations, inspired by customer and community input.

This Friday, March 11, the coffee shop is celebrating with an open house from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at their 615 S. Saginaw Street location, a shared space with FlintPrints and 100K Ideas in the Ferris Building.

For co-founders Nicholas Pidek and Jonathan Moore, keeping the local ‘flavor’ of each Foster location is an important model of the business, as is buying inventory like napkins, straws, donuts, and baked goods from local vendors. They believe coffee can act as a catalyst to encourage people who are stopping by to stay awhile and explore the area.
A cozy nook inside Foster Coffee's cafe area.
Oftentimes, baristas can act as unofficial tourism ambassadors and their friendly faces can really make an impact on someone’s day. Through this belief that a quick stop at a coffee shop can provide a first impression of an entire city, Foster has become synonymous with the local growing Flint coffee scene.

To many, Peighton Douglas is a familiar face as the Flint Foster Coffee manager. She enjoys the many customer reactions that take place outside of the shop. “Realizing our community doesn’t end when they leave our cafe is always heartwarming, and it reminds me what Foster is all about,” she says.

The open house celebrates an ever-evolving commitment to the community's changing needs. Douglas says the customer feedback led to an updated, more cozy interior design of the space.

“It used to be pretty stark white and had wooden tables and chairs which worked for some things. If people wanted to come in and work and not be distracted, it worked really well. But we were finding that a lot of people wanted a cozier, homey feel and aesthetic.”

“When people apply to work at any of our Foster locations, there’s a question at the very end that asks what we should change or what Foster could do better. For our location, it was always providing a comfier atmosphere.”
A lounging area inside Foster Coffee's cafe.
The space was made over with new couches, a fireplace, new seats, rugs, plants, and an accent wall with the company color of teal. 

“We took away that stark, brick wall feel, and just made it homier. We also got a better sound system as well that we’re really excited about,” Douglas says. “We want people to know that this is a safe and comfortable space. If we weren’t providing a comfortable space, we wanted to do that.”

Douglas says they wanted to make the space a little bit more inviting for people working remotely, for students to finish homework and hang out with friends on a Saturday morning. “We felt like people didn’t want to sit and stay. We want to remind people we want them to stay, so we did these things for you to feel more comfortable here.”

The renovations took place at the end of December, but this Friday’s open house event celebrates the changes with free sample menu items, Foster gift card raffles, music, and double reward points on all purchases.

For more information on Foster Coffee, visit: fostercoffee.co