Sepia Coffee, a black-owned coffee brand, is taking over the space at 2831 E Grand Blvd after Gathering Coffee Co. closed on Sept. 9th. The space will largely remain as-is and Sepia’s estimated soft opening is Oct. 1. This news was first seen on Eater Detroit.
Gathering Coffee was officially launched in Aug 2020 by Emily Steffen, who had been operating the space as a “makeshift coffee bar, cool brew bar, pour-over station” prior to that. The coffee house, along with a pair of other LBGTQ+-based coffee shops in Michigan, received threatening letters that eventually forced the business to temporarily close its doors due to safety concerns.
“It is our hope to announce soon, that people and a company we align with will be taking its place, not to continue Gathering itself, but continue its mission and purpose, in the North End,” Gathering posted on Instagram in their initial closure announcement.
Hence comes Sepia Coffee Project (SCP), a Detroit-born, Detroit-roasted coffee brand with community and inclusion at the core of its mission. Founded by Martell Mason, SCP already roasts their beans at its boutique roastery in the North End. The company is also working on building a roastery and tasting room in Highland Park, as previously reported by What Now Detroit.
Mason told Eater that “taking the helm of the space will provide him with much-needed revenue” for the Highland Park roastery. Mason also said that “he is considering naming the space in honor of Hastings Street,” while most of Gathering’s space and offerings will largely remain the same.
