Foster Coffee Company opens up in East Lansing

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A small coffee stand at a farmers market has grown into three stores around Michigan, including the newest one in downtown East Lansing.

Co-founders of Foster Coffee Company, Nicholas Pidek and Johnathon Moore, started testing coffee recipes and catering events in 2014.

“John and I met in high school, we became really good friends, started a band together,” said Pidek.

They opened their first retail space on South Washington Street in downtown Owosso with the vision to create a better community.

“When we looked at our downtown, we said, ‘Hey, the only way we’re going to do this, the only way this works, is if we work with other businesses, non-profits and civic entities to really help elevate the whole community,” Pidek said.

Their newest location in East Lansing opened up at the end of September. Now their are five different coffee shops within a half mile radius of each other in downtown East Lansing.

“So, when you have multiple coffee shops in an area, I think what you’re doing is you’re creating a scene that people can be a part of. It’s not about just one shop,” Moore said.

Foster Coffee is ready to embrace the community, with or without competition. They’re already making plans for making the East Lansing community better.

“In our mind, if Foster was the only success story, that would be a failure, because we exist within a community,” Pidek said.

One way they’re doing this is by making their shop a place for students to study.

“This is the best place to study. Like I feel like I always like to study here,” MSU sophomore, Saud Almotairi said.

The new store is located on Albert Avenue, as a part of the new Center City construction in East Lansing. It offers two stories of space to enjoy a cup of coffee.

“Coffee brings people together in that way which is really great,” Moore said.

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