How It Started
Our Story
Pines started in a garage in Traverse City in 2019. Two friends — Jake and Mari — were tired of mediocre coffee and curious about what made the difference. They bought a 1-kilo roaster, spent two years dialing in sourcing relationships with farms in Ethiopia and Colombia, and quietly started sharing bags with neighbors.
Word got around the way it does in a small town. By 2021, they'd opened a small café on Pine Street. Nothing fancy — wide plank floors, a handmade bar, and a grinder that smells like everything good about mornings. The garage is still there, and the roaster has been upgraded, but not the philosophy: source honestly, roast carefully, and make coffee worth the moment.
"Coffee doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be cared for."
2019
Founded in a Traverse City garage
12+
Single-origin farms we work with
~600
Cups served each week
1
Pine Street · Still the only location