Our Story

In 2013, amidst a frenzy of scribbled out drawings on napkins, a loose business plan in a google doc, many lists of names/color schemes/logo sketches, and lots of coffee tasting, our first coffee shop (North Perk Coffee) was born.  Like so many ventures, it took a leap of faith (would it work?) and confidence (an English degree is kind of like a business degree!?) but stepping out onto the ledge has been so, so worth it. Through coffee, we have been able to carve out a life in the best place on earth.  A life that encompasses hard work, passion, people, travel and early mornings.  Our goal from day one has been to serve and prepare excellent coffee in a warm, inviting environment - one you want to savor and share with others. When we often find ourselves in one of our shops on a day off, we know we are doing something right.

After working in the setting of a coffee shop for just over a year and a half, we got the itch to start roasting for ourselves.  We started out with small batches, all 5lb batches or less, and this endeavor eventually became the current iteration of Lake Charlevoix Coffee Company. John has become our master roaster, learning, reading, & continually perfecting each blend/roast.

Then, in 2017 our family grew by one with the birth of our sweet daughter Nina.  Our work also grew and our roaster got a LOT bigger!  We found an amazing space in Boyne City (202 S Lake St, Boyne City MI 49712) where we still roast in the back and have the coffee shop in the front.   You can catch John with the roaster fired up about 3-4 days a week.  We sold our Petoskey shop, North Perk Coffee, in 2021 to an amazing steward of northern Michigan and coffee culture, and continue to work closely with her and provide their coffee.  Focusing on the roasting side of coffee has been an immensely gratifying shift and natural progression for us, allowing us to grow and expand within a small business in ways we are very thankful for.  Selling our coffee online is amazing to me, we send it ALL OVER!  It overwhelms me to say how grateful we are for that support.  Thank you for choosing us!  

In our spare time we love spending time in the woods, on the water, under the sun, out in the snow ... adventures all fueled by fresh roasted coffee of course! When you're in Boyne City, come say hi!

-Brittany & John (and Nina)