Family owned coffee shop serves downtown Mount Pleasant
Coffee lovers have another source of java available to them in Mount Pleasant.
Pleasant City Coffee, located downtown on 205 W. Broadway, opened in September by owners Joshua and Rachael Agardy.
The origin of Pleasant City Coffee is found in the story of Joshua and Rachael's relationship. The husband and wife met in Mount Pleasant in 2013, when Rachael flew up to visit her friend for her birthday. They married three months later.
The couple spent the remainder of 2013 flying back and forth between Michigan and Texas visiting each other. Their shared passion for coffee had them visiting numerous coffee shops in Houston, where they spent time together soaking in the atmosphere and planning a business of their own.
"We both were trying to find a way to merge our lives together at the time. We thought, well, why don't we start a business together-"
"Because we're crazy," Rachael interjected, laughing.
"Well yeah, we figured we'd just be together all the time, it'd be great. It's also a place we can have our kids with us and not lose time together," Joshua said.
Joshua is a Mount Pleasant native who studied photography and film. Rachael is a geology professor at Central Michigan University. The couple has three children, one of whom can commonly be found in a baby sling attached to Joshua's chest while he works.
"It was coffee that brought us together," Joshua said.
Sharing the love
Rachael said many local residents expressed interest in having more family-centric locations downtown.
"Mount Pleasant has such a cute downtown with a lot of potential, beautiful buildings and a lot of character. It was just begging to have a coffee shop," Rachael said. "It's a place where the community can come in, get a cup of coffee, that kind of thing."
Rachael described the atmosphere of the coffee shop by likening her home state of Texas.
"Coming to Michigan I wanted to make a place that felt warm and cozy in the winter, to make it inviting and bright to help get out of the gloom," Rachael said.
Pleasant City Coffee has large windows illuminating much of the interior. Sun-shaped light fixtures hang from the ceiling, and much of the furniture is made by a Houston-based furniture producer.
Artists are frequently featured on the walls of the shop for customers to purchase, and Joshua said artists are welcome to come in and propose pieces to display.
Every Friday from 5-7 p.m., a jazz trio from CMU performs, and round-robin poetry readings are hosted monthly.
Their coffee comes from Uncommon Coffee Roasters, a company based in Saugatuck.
The shop features two beans: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Honduras. Joshua said the selection of coffee changes each season.
The business also serves a daily selection of doughnuts from Cops and Donuts Bakery, located in Clare.
CMU alumni Rachel Cromell and Chris Coale both share enthusiasm for the coffee shop.
"It's really important for a community to have a coffee shop that is locally owned, I don't think a downtown is correct without a coffee shop," Cromell said. "Plus, the drinks are great."
For Coale, its proximity and convenience that has him coming back to Pleasant City Coffee.
"This place is incredibly convenient for me," Coale said. "I've been waiting for a coffee shop to open up in downtown Mount Pleasant for some time."
