Jessica Decker grew up in Ann Arbor but she’s smitten with Downtown Lansing. Her self-named coffee shop is celebrating its second birthday at 220 S. Washington Square.
“I love our location,” says the 26-year-old entrepreneur.
She came to Lansing to attend Lansing Community College, scooted up to Midland to get her degree at Northwood University and returned to Lansing to stay.
The lofts being built downtown, Cooley Law School and the students and state workers encouraged her to locate in Downtown Lansing.
“I’d always wanted to own my own coffee shop and the time was just right to jump in,” she says.
When she approached a bank for a start-up loan, she carried with her a detailed business plan and sailed right through the process.
Her hours are long. The shop is open 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Weekend traffic is good according to Decker. “People love to walk Downtown and many students have weekend classes.”
She started the business two years ago with five employees and now has eight.
To what does she owe her success?
“I listen to my customers and adjust the menu accordingly,” she says. The menu concentrates on fresh ingredients and healthier foods, like low-fat yogurt.
She contributes to the community, too, donating coffee, food and labor to Downtown events. On occasion she can be seen painting the faces of the little visitors to downtown.
The shop's décor is ever-changing because she wants to keep it cool, to match her customers, she says.
Source: Jessica Decker, Decker's Coffee
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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