Discover the best coffee shops to work from in Grand Rapids, Michigan! Find out which spots offer the perfect blend of ambiance, amenities, and, of course, great coffee to boost your productivity.
We're blessed with an array of coffee shops here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For those of us who have the opportunity to work remotely, this is an awesome chance to enjoy great coffee and get work done. Or maybe these coffee shops serve as a go-to meeting place for friends and clients.
At Launch Kit, we tend to be in the office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we make an effort to get out and about, checking out different places around town. This prompted the idea to compile a list of our favorite coffee shops to work from in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Disclaimer: We titled this article "Best Coffee Shops to Work From - Grand Rapids, Michigan," however, this is totally subjective. This article is just our personal opinion. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences and hopefully provide useful tips for the next time you're looking to visit a coffee shop and get some work done.
Parking - 2/5. Paid street parking on Monroe is your best bet. Or a parking garage in the area.
Seating For Solo Work - 4/5. Bar-height window seats, bar seating, standing tables, long single table seating.
Seating For Group Work - 3/5. Two four-person tables, usually occupied. Once those are occupied, your best hope is finding seats at the long 10-person table or at the stools up against the window.
Meetings - 3/5. Can get pretty loud. Not many seating options. If you both work downtown though, it's a very convenient location to walk to.
Power Outlets - 2/5. Only accessible at window seats.
Food If You Get Hungry - 1/5. A few pastries.
Price - $5.75 for a latte, $5.50 for pour over.
Natural Light - 4/5. Windows on two sides. High ceilings make the place feel very bright.
Noise - Music playing. When the place gets busy, it does get quite loud.
Difficulty of Getting A Seat - 3/5. For solo work, plenty to choose from. I recommend sitting at the bar. For groups bigger than two, you might be a bit limited.
Coffee Quality - 5/5. They're ranked nationally for their quality. Enough said.
Bathrooms - 4/5 - Two gender-neutral bathrooms.
Total Score = 31/50 = 62%
Kevin - This is an interesting case study because while Madcap Monroe doesn't score the best, it's personally my favorite coffee shop to work from in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A big part of the reason it's my favorite is the location. For me, it's a few blocks away from my condo and a few blocks away from the Launch Kit office. So even though it scores poorly on parking, it's convenient for me because it's actually the closest coffee shop to me. I guess this is why the old real estate saying "location, location, location" is so relevant.
Parking - 4/5. Free street parking. No parking lot.
Seating For Solo Work - 4/5. Very diverse tables. One-person tables are a bit small. You likely wouldn't have enough room for a laptop and a notebook.
Seating For Group Work - 4/5. Great. Wide range of table options.
Meetings - 4/5. Easy to spot the person you are meeting with. Not too loud.
Power Outlets - 3.5/5 - Accessible from most seats. Perimeter seats and some interior seats via vertical columns.
Food If You Get Hungry - 4/5 - Sandwiches, bagels.
Price - $5 for a latte, $3 for batch brew.
Natural Light - 4/5 - Windows on three sides.
Noise - Music playing. Still easy to have a conversation though.
Difficulty of Getting A Seat - 2/5. Kevin - Whenever I've been there, I've had an easy time finding a seat for a meeting or solo work. Mackenzie - I've seen it get busy to the point where it can be a bit tricky finding a seat.
Coffee Quality - 3/5.
Bathrooms - 4/5 - Two gender-neutral bathrooms.
Total Score = 36/50 = 72%
Kevin - Long story short, if I could walk here from my condo or the Launch Kit office, I think Roots Brew Shop would be my favorite coffee shop to work from in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I really enjoy the diverse seating options. Whether you're on your laptop by yourself or meeting with three other people, you can be confident that there will be a space for you. It does get busy, don't get me wrong. This is a very popular place for people to call their "office away from the office."
Parking - 3/5. A few parking spots behind the building. Paid street parking.
Seating For Solo Work - 4/5. Bar-height window seats, bar seating, table seating.
Seating For Group Work - 3/5. Eight-person table, a few four-person tables.
Meetings - 3/5. Easy to spot the person you are meeting with. Not too loud. Seats are quite close to one another, so you won't have the most private conversation.
Power Outlets - 4/5 - Accessible from most seats.
Food If You Get Hungry - 4/5 - Sandwiches, toast, cheese, and charcuterie.
Price - $5 for a latte, $4 for pour over.
Natural Light - 2/5 - Window on one side. Ample ceiling lighting throughout. More of a darker cozy vibe.
Noise - Music playing. Easy to have a conversation though.
Difficulty of Getting A Seat - 2/5 - For solo work, plenty to choose from. For groups bigger than two, you might be a bit limited.
Coffee Quality - 4/5.
Bathrooms - 4/5. Two bathrooms in the back of the space.
Total Score = 33/50 = 66%
Kevin - If I want to go to Easttown, this is my go-to. I enjoy that I can reliably find a parking spot and be confident that I'll have a table to work from. I find that when I'm at Squib, I'm able to remain very focused and get a lot of work done thanks to the lower foot traffic volume. (To contrast this, Madcap Monroe has very high foot traffic. If you're easily distracted, this might not be the best spot for you. I usually put my Airpods Max on.)
Parking - 2/5. There are two spots dedicated to Sparrows coffee, but there are more by Kingma's Market, the building they are attached to. There is also street parking and parking across the street.
Seating For Solo Work - 4/5. There is not a ton of seating, but I don't usually have a problem finding a seat for myself.
Seating For Group Work - 3/5. There is one big high-top table that could fit four people, and it is attached to a bar stool-like seating area.
Meetings - 0/5. No. This is an echoey environment. I would only do work here that doesn't involve a Google Meet call or in-person meeting.
Power Outlets - 3/5. There are some by the bar area and group seating area.
Food If You Get Hungry - 5/5. They have some croissants at the coffee shop; however, Kingma's inside can make you a killer sandwich from freshly shaved meat.
Price - $5-6 for a latte.
Natural Light - 5/5. Amazing, windows all around and a garage that opens.
Noise - 2/5. Not that big of a space, so it's not big and noisy. It's more of a small with chatter level of noise.
Difficulty of Getting A Seat - Not difficult.
Coffee Quality - 5/5. Amazing every time.
Bathrooms - 2/5. A little hidden inside Kingma's. Dark and long.
Total Score = 31/50 = 62%
Parking - 3/5. Free street parking on the side streets.
Seating For Solo Work - 5/5. Options both inside and outside. Headphones can be great.
Seating For Group Work - 4/5. Usually no issue finding a table for a group of two to four people.
Meetings - 4/5. Outside is the best place to have a meeting since the tables are a bit more spread out.
Power Outlets - 4/5.
Food If You Get Hungry - 2/5.
Price - $5.75 for a latte, $5.50 for a batch brew.
Natural Light - 5/5. The BEST lighting.
Noise - 4/5. Not too loud. Music inside. Outside is peaceful with a bit of road noise.
Difficulty of Getting A Seat - 4/5. Haley - Afternoon is usually when I go.
Coffee Quality - 5/5.
Bathrooms - 4/5.
Total Score = 44/50 = 88%
Haley - Madcap on Fulton because I LOVE the outdoor seating options! Ample room and the perfect setting.
Parking - 4/5. You can usually find parking for free on the side streets by the houses and walk over. If not, there is a pay-to-park lot across the street.
Seating For Solo Work - 4/5. Snag a hammock or a cozy chair at one of the small tables. Or, if you're like me, you'll need a bigger table for your five notebooks. Also being alone means I get to stare at everyone's cute dogs they bring with them.
Seating For Group Work - 4/5. Great as long as you enjoy working outside. So many cute areas for casual group work. Big tables in the sun or shade & seats by a fire pit.
Meetings - 2/5 - This would be a good spot for a more casual meeting. Maybe with coworkers rather than a client. It's a pretty high-traffic area since it's in the cozy part of East Town where people shop, and there isn't really any privacy.
Power Outlets - Honestly, not sure on this one. I just always go with a fully charged computer, and by the time I need to charge, I'll need a change of space anyway. I'll have to provide an update next time I visit.
Food If You Get Hungry - 2/5 - Snacks with cute packaging on-site (6/5 for the packaging). Otherwise, there are restaurants nearby too.
Price - Roughly $6 for a latte or tea here.
Natural Light - 5/5 - As long as it's sunny, we're good here... since it's outdoors.
Noise - Soft music is playing, and there is light chatter, but nothing headphones won't fix.
Difficulty of Getting A Seat - I've never had an issue because I go early in the day, but I can see where it can get full.
Coffee Quality - 5/5 - I am a HUGE fan of their Kiwi Matcha; all the drinks I've had have been super tasty.
Bathrooms - 1/5 - There is only an outhouse... but that's better than nothing.
Total Score = 27/50 = 54%
This was a super fun project to "research" over the past few weeks. We hope you found it insightful and encourage you to check out these spots if you haven't been to them already!
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