Lake Trust gives me the opportunity to be a lot more adaptable. I’m confident that they’ll be here to help my business thrive.
- Craig B., Owner & Roaster of Craig's Coffee
Fresh-roasted in Motown.
French pressed, cold brewed, or however you prefer your morning cup. It just tastes better when it’s roasted with care.
After years of gaining knowledge, and honing his coffee skills, Craig began roasting first for friends and family. Before turning it into his full time business in 2020. To take his roastery to the next level, Craig needed additional financing. That’s where a local grant, and a partnership with Lake Trust, came in.
Craig’s Coffee was a 2022 recipient of the Motor City Match1 program, a grant program that supports Detroit entrepreneurs. Lake Trust matched the grant with a Small Business Microloan and the combined funding allowed him to take his business to the next level. Craig was able to develop the Midtown Detroit location to include a coffee bar and seating area. The financing also helped him purchase the pivotal coffee roaster. Arguably, the heart of each bag of fresh-roasted coffee, and each sip of Craig’s signature brews.
Motown proud.
Motown proud.
Craig attributes part of his growing success to his location in Midtown Detroit. When building his coffee business, Craig relied on community connections like hiring local construction companies and collaborating with local artists to create Craig’s Coffee’s eye-catching designs on their bags of coffee beans.
In addition, Craig credits the unique economy of Detroit as an opportunity for local businesses to grow. According to Craig, the variety and number of smaller neighborhood grocery stores in Detroit support local sellers in a way that big box stores found in other areas often don’t. And once Craig opened his retail location, his customers from the local stores were able to visit, get a bag of coffee beans, and a fresh cup of coffee.
The Detroit location connected Craig on a deeper level with the community. “It’s a lot of work to run a coffee company.”, admits Craig, “But the community and the folks I’ve met along the way in Detroit have made it all worth it.”
Continued relationship with Lake Trust.
Continued relationship with Lake Trust.
Craig’s partnership with Lake Trust began when he was initially looking for local funding, and then partnership took off from there. “I was introduced to Nicole at Lake Trust and she immediately hit the ground running,” Craig explains, “working directly with me to help me meet my financing goals. She went above and beyond to make sure I was able to get the financing I needed.” Since then, Craig says it’s been a continued growing process with Lake Trust from referring clients and offering business resources and support.
“The idea of working with financial institutions to find funding was intimidating but Lake Trust has been exactly the opposite of what I feared,” says Craig, “Lake trust has continued to be extremely supportive in any venture I wanted to pursue and have provided additional opportunities as I continue to grow my business.”
Small loan, big idea.
A small business microloan can help cover business expenses under $50,000.
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Craig's Coffee interviewed by local news outlets.
Lake Trust business member, Craig's Coffee, featured by local news outlets for National Entrepreneurship Week.
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