Since 2016 we've taken on a lot of projects and buildouts as a team for our own business, as well as our wholesale customers. We're always getting the tools out and creating or fixing something. This, however, is our biggest project yet.
Ya'll ready?! We've teased the "big news" for far too long on social media and to our customers, but it wasn't supposed to be that way. We promise! It was 2019 when we first began pursuing the purchase of 7 Mill St in Sodus, Ny. Many people today remember the building as Jug's Tavern, then the Mill St Tavern from 2016-2018. It has now been vacant for three years.It was not planned to be a long ordeal, and we can create a list of things that got in the way of what we thought was progress to buy the property but, for whatever reason, it was supposed to take this long.
...So what is the big news? We bought the old Jug's Tavern building!
As of this post, we've officially cleared the restaurant space almost 100% and moved our tools in to get to work. There are pictures below of our progress, though realize many were not shared due to the condition of what was left when we arrived. Simply put, we're much better off now!
The 152 year-old building is in massive disrepair. When our production team is not roasting and fulfilling order quotas at our Roastery, Trevor is leading the rehabilitation of the project, along with Chris and the crew they've assembled with Wayne County Community Schools. We're ready to restore this building to create a place for community to thrive around incredible coffee.
Some of the big projects that the team will take care of first:
Roof
Siding
Sidewalk
Re-frame storefront windows
Frame, sheet, and side any exposed old window/door cavities
Demo and rebuild walk-in cooler
Address the second-story stairs
Commercial kitchen hood exhaust fan
Broken Water lines and sewage drains
Update electric
Demo second story apartment and repurpose
That's just the start! This building will be the Coffee Shop that we've dreamt of having in Sodus since the day we planted our Imprint Coffee Roasting roots here in 2016. The last two years especially have been difficult, fielding the "will you have seating here?"questions regarding our Roastery & Drive-Thru. We've known for a long time now that the space we are in cannot facilitate the seating and atmosphere we desire for customer interaction, simply due to the volume of coffee we produce in our current space. It's noisy, not aesthetically what we want inside, and jam-packed with green coffee and equipment for our locations and wholesale customers. This is why we pursued 7 Mill St as soon as we were able to do so.
While we expand, we will also remain where we are indefinitely as our Roastery & Drive-Thru, where we roast an average of 1,000 pounds of coffee weekly and supply across the USA. This coffee shop on Mill St will 100% be an addition to our service in our Sodus community.
As we spend the next 6 months or so getting the building rehabilitated, Christina will be working with Heidi and Victoria to determine the intricacies of the menu, seating, and overall "feel" of the space. We already have some crazy cool ideas in store to make this a family & kid-friendly space with light breakfast and brunch offerings, and highlights of our ethically sourced and exceptionally roasted coffees.
Imprint Coffee Roasting is designed to serve people, which is why we say "People first, then coffee". We can hardly wait to create an atmosphere to harbor community, highlight coffee, and open the doors at 7 Mill st to serve you all. Follow our social accounts and this blog regularly to keep up to date on the progress! Each blog update will include a discount code for you to use on our website.
With so much gratitude,
Trevor & Christina Leach, and the Imprint Coffee Roasting team
Special promo code for 10% off your order: MILLCOFFEE
This code is for bagged coffee purchases made through our website only. Code expires 5/10/22. Excludes subscriptions.