The Cutter Family of Cheboygan Coffee Roasters

Jane, Jeff and Brody Cutter are brewing up something special in downtown Cheboygan with their family-owned-and-operated coffee roasting business

The Cutter Family knows a latte about brewing coffee and building community in Northern Michigan. Wanting to join the momentum of downtown Cheboygan’s growth and revival, Michigan native Jane and New Hampshire transplant Jeff Cutter purchased a functionally obsolete building on the corner of Main Street in November 2019 with plans of rehabilitating the space into a kitchenware store. Mere months later, the pandemic put a pause on their plans, but Jane calls the moment a blessing in disguise.

Time allowed the couple to reimagine the prominent corner shop, and the pandemic inspired them to create a space where the community could be together once again. Cheboygan Coffee Roasters was born.

To bring the business to life required a full rehabilitation of the building, including plumbing, heating, installing a commercial kitchen as well as a prep kitchen in the basement, updating a second-story apartment and making façade improvements. This revitalization project for Cheboygan’s downtown was supported by a $216,300 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) Michigan Community Revitalization Program. The Cutters also received support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) through a $25,000 Match on Main grant in December 2021, which supported eliminating an old garage to create an outdoor space with a pergola, as well as the purchase of coffee bean inventory, outdoor dining furniture and marketing and design elements for the business. The utilization of these placemaking-focused MEDC tools made it possible to revitalize the 1950s-era building in downtown Cheboygan while also supporting the growth of a new small business.

Cheboygan Coffee Roasters opened its doors in August 2022, and it’s a family affair with Jane and Jeff running all aspects of the business, while their son Brody is the lead roaster. Together, they’re the perfect blend.

What first brought you to Cheboygan?

Jane: In summer 2019, I visited my fellow [Central Michigan University] theater alum, Marcella Costin. She and her husband John were transforming Main Street with several shops, including Simply Marcella, The Queens Head Wine Pub and Stormy Kromer A Cap & Ale House. When I visited, John and Marcella were working on adding an intimate performance venue called the Lark Theater. I met so many wonderful people during my visit, and I loved the level of volunteerism and commitment that was actively raising Cheboygan to new heights. I saw their vision and wanted to be a part of it. I have always enjoyed being on the front end of positive change and always have been an entrepreneur. I felt like I had energy for one more project. We made sure that if we were going to put Cheboygan’s name on our freshly roasted coffee, that we were going to create coffee to take pride in – to put Cheboygan on the map in a positive way and add to the momentum of creating a downtown Cheboygan destination.

How did you get into coffee roasting?

Jeff: I started working in the restaurant business at 15, and found myself cooking and running kitchens at a young age. In 1991, at age 26, we opened an Irish pub and steakhouse called Molly Malone's in the beautiful city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an hour north of Boston. It filled a void in town and became wildly successful. Everything was made from scratch, right down to the salad dressings. Being in the service industry and growing up in kitchens lent itself to a natural progression of coffee roasting. We started this endeavor in 2019, and it was going to be a kitchen store that sold locally made pastries and coffee. The plan quickly changed after the pandemic hit, allowing time to morph into what it is today. Brody was already a barista in Hampton, New Hampshire, for our friend Coskun Yazgan, who was a third-generation coffee roaster from Turkey. Coskun started to teach Brody how to roast and encouraged us to roast our own beans for the Cheboygan venture.

I soon bought a small 1-kilo Sonofresco roaster and a couple commercial espresso machines. We set up in our garage selling beans to a few local spots. I also went to a coffee roasting school in Vermont to learn how to roast on larger machines, learning the scientific side of beans in their lab and how heat influences tastes depending on the different countries’ locations, altitudes and soil content.

Brody: I always loved drinking coffee – it was certainly a huge part of my lifestyle – but never in a million years did I see myself becoming as involved in the coffee industry as I am today. I’d always wanted to do something with music, but that field has changed so much nowadays, and it certainly wasn’t going to give me as much life direction as my current career path has. I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s become a new passion, and I have a whole new respect and perspective on coffee.

What has the reception been like in downtown Cheboygan and how has it felt to become a part of this community?

Jane: This community is incredible. The reception has been fantastic. Our corner of downtown has become a beautiful gathering place for everyone near and far: moms meeting up with babies in tow, active retirees gathering in groups weekly and of course tourists. We are quickly helping to make Cheboygan a tourist destination. Our coffee is available online, but a visit to our signature store is an event. The smell of fresh, homemade pastries wafting from our kitchen, the unique retail and our signature coffee blends and a full barista bar create a memorable experience.

What are your current roles with Cheboygan Coffee Roasters?

Jane: I’m in charge of everything but roasting and being a barista! I handle the hiring of barista and kitchen staff; help create the menu items; curate the unique retail items; manage the PR and marketing; work with a graphic designer who knows my vision for branding and packaging. I help manage a small but mighty team of seven employees aside from my family who are each passionate about this business and our community.

Jeff: My current role is working with brokers to purchase raw beans from around the world, along with all aspects of production: roasting, packaging, delivery and customer service. I also spearhead all building construction, equipment and building maintenance. In addition to the roaster seen in our signature store, we also have opened a separate roasting facility further down on Main Street that is responsible for doing the heavy lifting for wholesale, online and retail sales. I am currently getting ready to add another 12-kilo roaster as a backup for busier summer demand and future growth.

What did the MEDC’s support mean to you as emerging small business owners?

Jane: MEDC support is vital to lifting up new businesses and helping to launch toward success. It is often quoted that “small businesses are the backbone of America.” Small businesses are what make towns and cities unique. We don’t want to lose that. We want to continue the momentum of cultivating new business and bringing back our downtowns.

Jeff: Moving to Cheboygan and the support from the locals made the choice easy. The MEDC was integral in our decision as well. They were always helpful with any questions about starting a project in a new town that was attracting new investors to help bring back a city that had been in and out of challenging times over the last few decades. A friendly, grateful community that was always supportive and willing to help sealed the deal. Help from the MEDC allowed us to invest in a city that was on its way up and provided necessary funding tools to bridge the gap financially.

What are some of your favorite parts of living and working in Michigan?

Jane: I love the fact that I have experienced the best of both worlds. Having spent most of my adult life in New England has been wonderful, but I did miss the “Midwest friendly” that I grew up with. Now that I am back in Michigan, I swear people are even nicer than when I left! I can’t imagine not living just a few miles from Mackinac Bridge. I simply cannot imagine not being near the Straits.  

Jeff: My first trip to Northern Michigan was quite surprising, especially compared to my time spent downstate early in my relationship with Jane, who is from outside of the Detroit area. Not realizing the beauty and grandeur of the Great Lakes, parks, the U.P., Sleeping Bear Dunes and more, I was blown away by the land and unique history of the area. It’s quite different from my home where it’s all granite, on the ocean and was settled in the early 1600s. I am now blessed with the best of both worlds, living on an inland freshwater lake that has just as much to offer in a new way. The people are also some of the friendliest, proudest and most helpful I’ve ever met.

Brody: At first it was a culture shock. Hunting, snowmobiling and the lake life on the whole were a bit foreign to me. But here I am today fully assimilated and can confidently call myself a local. This state is a hidden gem. I feel a lot of people don’t know what to think of Michigan until they come out here to see it for themselves, and wow, is it beautiful. Every day I’m finding out something new, and it further grows my love for the decision we made about moving here.