Copyright M Live Michigan
ANN ARBOR, MI — A coffee shop with Austin, Texas, “vibes” has arrived in Ann Arbor. Hazel Coffee Co, 2111 Packard St., unveiled its offerings in a soft opening Wednesday, Nov. 5, co-owner Bryan Caragay said. “The community around here has been the most supportive,” Caragay, 29, said. “We have had dozens of people yesterday and today just say how happy they are for us that we got through it and congratulating us.” Caragay co-owns the shop with his wife, Hailey Polidori Caragay. The two hope to make their coffee shop unique by adding a “coffee-and-community tagline.” “We really wanted to bring that Southern hospitality to the Midwest and just have a really collaborative, creative environment,” Hailey Polidori Caragay, 29, said. “We want it to be a place people gather from all aspects of creativity.” Hazel Coffee Co. comes after years of doorstop drop-offs and event-catering, Bryan Caragay said. The couple, originally from the Plymouth-Canton area and both 2018 Central Michigan University graduates, started a coffee catering company in 2020 when they resided in Austin. Bryan said his wife dropped off coffee orders door-to-door and used one espresso machine to prepare drinks at the start. The couple moved to Ann Arbor in 2022 and transitioned their coffee business to catering carts. Bryan said they opened the coffee shop as “a home base” for patrons. “We get a lot of people saying that they loved our coffee at our catering events but there was nowhere they could actually come and enjoy the coffee themselves,” Bryan said. The couple “blindly moved” to Ann Arbor because the city has “similar vibes to Austin.” They began seriously touring potential sites about two years ago, but the locations were either too expensive or “the landlords weren’t great.” Construction of Hazel Coffee Co., named from an early memory of Hailey’s mother drinking hazelnut coffee, began in May in a vacant lot, close to YORK Food and Drink and Core Collective. Bryan credits the coffee shop’s landlords, whom he calls “the most amazing landlords you could ever imagine,” for helping him and Hailey with the shop’s initial financial struggles. Hailey said many local business owners have already stopped by the coffee shop and are excited to collaborate. “We took a lot of inspiration from coffee shops down in Austin, Texas where everything is super welcoming,” Bryan said. “Our whole thing is you should be able to walk in and get a very well-dialed espresso like a specialty coffee shop would offer. But also, if you’re somebody who’s not into that and you want a chai or a matcha, we’ll be able to provide that for you as well.” Bryan said the couple does not want customers to be judged for their drink orders. Menu items include a cinnamon sugar latte, maple sea salt latte and other house-made drinks. “(Customers) should expect to feel welcomed immediately when they walk in the door,” Bryan said. “They should always feel like someone has made a connection to them and that when they come in, we’re going to make sure that they leave with something they were happy with.” Hazel Coffee Co is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. The couple is also passionate about technology. In their sophomore years at CMU, they came up with Guarded Safety, a smartphone safety app that alerts users’ contacts if they feel like they’re in a dangerous situation. The couple’s product won the October 5x5 Night pitch competition at Fenn Valley Vineyards in Fennville in 2017. Read more: CMU students’ app to improve college safety wins 5x5 Night contest
