Pleasant City Coffee celebrates grand re-opening on Oct. 8
Pleasant City Coffee is to host its grand re-opening from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 8. There will be crepe specials, mimosas, a Bloody Mary bar, and cider and donuts from Papa’s Pumpkin Patch.
Owner of Pleasant City Coffee Joshua Agardy said that the cafe is making adjustments to the current hours it is open. The cafe will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.
Agardy and his wife, Rachel Agardy, the co-founder of the cafe, refer to Pleasant City Coffee’s new addition of alcoholic beverages as a “European-style cafe model.”
Joshua mentioned that Rachel travels to Europe extensively and it is common for cafe’s to serve alcohol. Businesses have already adapted this in Michigan cities such as Detroit, Bay City and Midland, Joshua said.
The cafe will be serving eight different kinds of wine from Joshua’s family vineyard, Blue Water Winery, which he built 16 years ago. In addition, there will be a variety of beer options from Four Leaf Brewing in Clare as well as a selection of Detroit spirits.
Pleasant City’s crepes will be featuring new ingredients such as potatoes and eggs. The cafe’s menu will include charcuterie boards with cheese from Detroit’s Eastern Market and Michigan-made beef and bison sausage. There will be almond honey from a local source, crackers, olives, dried cherries and mustard to supplement the produce.
In replacement of the outdoor patio that was once in front of the cafe, there is now outdoor seating in the back of the building.
“The university needs more things for the students to come and enjoy,” Joshua said. “And being a small business owner and an investor in the community, that's part of that experience too. [W]e know that we want to appeal to that demographic, so people want to come to school here.”
Joshua said it is not just a college bar experience, it is a low-key establishment for people to have drinks, a cup of coffee and a bite to eat.
What did it take to get here?
The Agardy couple began the cafe’s transformation in the midst of the pandemic.
“I've been working my ass off to keep us open because it was a commitment that we made – my wife and I, my business partner. We either close now in a pandemic … Or I go back to work every day and we try to make this thing work,” Joshua said.
The first additions that were made to the 8-year-old business was a walkup window that Joshua installed for people to safely get their coffee fix, as well as an outdoor patio in front of the building. This began to spark new ideas, Joshua said.
Rachel designed the urban feel of the cafe while Joshua handled the labor to achieve the backbones necessary for the “European style” cafe.
“I've had a lot of sweat, blood and tears in this building and so I can speak of it as something I'm very proud of, the work that's been done,” Joshua said. “And the people that did help me, I had architects, we had contractors to do plumbing, electrical, all that stuff was done by, you know, licensed commercial contractors … I can't do those things.
“Everything else was me and a couple buddies, and we just did it. I was here every night 'till four in the morning for three months.”
All the while, Joshua has been attending Central Michigan University as a student. He is studying community development and is projected to graduate with his bachelor's this spring. In addition, Joshua owns several apartment buildings that he is required to manage while being a father to five children.
When Joshua and Rachel originally opened Pleasant City Coffee eight years ago, they had their first child.
“I opened the coffee shop with a new baby and I came to work 10 hours a day with a baby strapped to my chest the first year,” Joshua said. “And then two years later, we had another baby and I worked with that baby 10 hours a day because we didn't have childcare. And then the third baby came and I worked with her less.
"But I've worked this business for eight years with three different babies, three different times, strapped to my chest for 10 hours a day. So this is really a family business. It really is a labor of love, and I've done it all, construction wise, with the kids at home and trying to juggle family life, work life and business life. So there's a lot invested, not just financially.”
For more information visit Pleasant City Coffee’s Facebook page.
