Coffee drinkers rejoice because there is a new coffee shop joining local businesses that call Lakewood home.
Rising Star expanded their coffee footprint in Northeast Ohio with the fourth shop at 13368 Madison Avenue—making it their first cafe outside of Cleveland city limits.
"Lakewood is an attractive place for us because it offers a diverse demographic that appreciates the quality of coffee at any price," said Robert Stockham, general manager of Rising Star.
Located next to the Bottlehouse Brewing Company, the move was a strategic one. Since last December, the coffee company collaborated with Bottlehouse on guest beers and pop-ups featuring Rising Star coffee.
“It was sort of a no-brainer to get on the Madison Avenue train with them. When the spot opened up, it seemed pretty straightforward," said Emily Mock, operation manager for all the Rising Star locations. "We have a good relationship with them."
The partnership between Bottlehouse and Rising Star was no accident. When Bottlehouse bought the property that the cafe currently occupies, they were looking for a reliable tenant for the space.
"In the mornings, we [Rising Star] would run a coffee bar at the brewery in the morning until around 4 p.m," Stockham said. "Partnering with Bottlehouse reflects what we stand for. They look at beer the way we look at coffee."
The portion of Madison where the brewery and coffee shop are located is relatively underdeveloped with storefront businesses but that could soon change as businesses eye up Lakewood as an entrepreneur destination.
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"Madison is an up-and-coming street so it seemed like a good move for us. The cafe space offers bar seating which we have always wanted to do but could never do before," Stockham said.
Just this month, the sought after donuts from Vegan Donut Company announced their first storefront will be coming to Madison Avenue after months doing pop-ups at Cleveland businesses.
"The pop-ups were a good way to get a sense of what interest really was over here in the neighborhood and how we were received over here," said Mock.
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The construction of the cafe took roughly six months to complete and features all the regular offerings Rising Star customers are used to — from their Aeropress and pour overs to sought-after lattes like the cardamon bomb latte and choice of espresso.
