JUST IN: New, locally owned coffee & tea company to launch 1st store

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“We commonly partner with different companies to open locations in our stores in these concourse spaces, to add even more value to the customers’ shopping experience,” Joe Hirschmugl, public relations manager for Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meijer, told this news outlet via email. “Grind House Coffee & Tea approached us, and we quickly discovered that they would make a good local partner.”

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“Grind House has built a well-known brand with many community connections. We believe that Grind House fits in well with our stores, and that our customers will be pleased with the offerings.”

Grind House Coffee’s founder said he’s shooting to open the 500-square-foot coffee shop by May 1.

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Plans call for opening coffee shops in additional Meijer stores in the months ahead, Miller said. Each store will employ eight to 10 people. The Grind House founder said he also is looking to open free-standing stores as the brand expands through the Dayton-Cincinnati region.

“We are hoping to add over 100 new jobs during our expansion within the next 18 months,” Miller said.

Miller, who grew up in Dayton and who now lives in Franklin, founded Grind House Coffee & Tea in November 2015 as an online retailer. The company’s roasting and packing facility is located in Fairfield.

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Launching a coffee company “has always been a dream of mine,” Miller told this news outlet in June. “My family has had a love for coffee and tea that started with my great-grandfather.”

“My family has always imported beans from other countries. We would experiment mixing different beans together and see what worked and what didn’t. When I was older I learned how to create flavored coffees and how to blend teas.”

“My mother knew I had always wanted to open a coffee shop and encouraged me to start looking into it. When my mother passed away in 2015, it was my father who told me to get up and follow my dreams.”

For more information, check out www.grindhousecoffeeandteacompany.com.