Maddie and Bella to open new coffee shop in downtown Toledo It won’t be long before the Warehouse District is fully caffeinated again.
Maddie & Bella Coffee Co., a coffee roaster based in Perrysburg, plans to open its first commercial shop in the spot formerly occupied by Downtown Latte at 44 S. St. Clair St.
“This is kind of the next logical step for us,” said Rich Jambor, 35, who owns the company. “It’s a great spot. It’s great to be part of the downtown revival.”
Mr. Jambor said many of the details of their operations are still unknown — the name hasn’t been finalized, the concept is still in the works, and the hours of operation are still up for debate. If they can stick to an aggressive timeline, Mr. Jambor hopes to have the shop up and running July 4, despite only taking over the space May 1.
Mr. Jambor and his family have been providing roasted beans to stores, restaurants, and coffee shops since the fall of 2012.
The Warehouse District has been without a coffee shop since Downtown Latte, which was open for 11 years, closed April 25. Its owners said they wanted to pursue new opportunities.
“Downtown Latte was great and had a loyal fan base,” Mr. Jambor said. “We’ve got big shoes to fill. They basically started the Warehouse District.”
Currently, Maddie & Bella is roasted by Mr. Jambor’s father, Richard, out of the family home. Soon, though, they expect to move their roasting operation into a larger commercial space to increase production capabilities.
From the start, the company has been a family business. Mr. Jambor’s father started roasting coffee several years ago as a hobby and, as family and friends requested more and more, Mr. Jambor — who described himself as “obsessed with coffee” — let his entrepreneurial spirit take over and formed the business. Mr. Jambor’s mother, Susan, works on packaging, delivering, and selling at farmers markets.
Mr. Jambor still expects to provide wholesale coffee and is in the process of launching an online store where people can order bags of beans and buy a home-delivery subscription service.
Original article featured in The Toledo Blade
