Populace Coffee was founded in 2010 by Andrew Heppner after working in Los Angeles for the previous 2 years at Intelligentsia Coffee in Venice Beach, CA.

Andrew is a Bay City child and grew up visiting downtown Bay City, graduating from Bay City Central, he spent lots of time watching the city grow.

Venturing out

As a young adult, though, Andrew wanted to venture outside of the comforts that Bay City offered to experience something new. He didn’t dislike his city but he wanted to see what else the world had to offer

After a few years away from home with his high school sweetheart by his side, they decided to move back home and start a coffee company. First, Andrew wanted to focus on roasting and selling coffee wholesale to cafe partners. Second, he wanted to venture into the world of retail coffee shops.

Fast forward a few years and everything was playing out the way it was imagined. There was a thriving roasting business, an online business, and at their peak, 3 operating cafes from Detroit to Bay City to Petoskey.

Then… the world stopped and they had to reevaluate their strategy. The Detroit cafe was the first to fall. Next their operation in Petoskey was licensed to a local operator there in order to keep it open and operating. 

The cafe in Downtown Bay City was still operating and beginning to thrive. As a company they refocused their attention on the main component of their business… community. 

Communities are not created overnight. They are created from actions, consistency, and trust. Our commitment to our community is not something we take lightly. We do not pretend to care, we actually do. 

We want to provide the best space we can for anyone who lives and breathes in our wonderful city. 

That’s what we do.

Let's get in touch!