Uncommon Coffee Roasters

Uncommon Coffee Roasters is one of the most iconic coffee shops on the Lakeshore. If you are visiting Saugatuck, Michigan, you can’t leave without picking up a hot or iced coffee as you visit the shops and galleries. They have been serving the Lakeshore for almost 25 years, and their cold brews can be found in over 20 states. We had the privilege of speaking with Guy Darienzo, president of Uncommon Coffee Roasters. For more information on Uncommon Coffee Roasters, you can visit: https://uncommoncoffeeroasters.com

What got you interested in starting Uncommon Coffee Roasters? 

We opened our coffee shop 24 years ago in the resort town of Saugatuck, Michigan to fill a need for this type of business in town. This was when specialty coffee was first coming to the Midwest.  Our passion for coffee has grown more each year we have been in business.

What is your mission statement?  

Our focus has changed somewhat over the years.  When we first opened, we focused on providing our customers with the best possible coffee.  Over the years, after meeting the coffee producers we became more focused on the farmers. Our mission statement is: We take pride in our diverse partnerships and strive to work with companies who share similar values. Our goal is to provide a variety of delicious and unique coffees and coffee products to as many people as possible while creating and maintaining sustainable partnerships with customers, coffee producers and everyone in between.

What is something that most people don’t know about Uncommon Coffee Roasters? 

We are a company with diverse employees, that is close to 70 percent woman run and are an LGBT Certified Business Enterprise.  We have a large distribution for our wholesale business with well over 200 business and our organic cold brew that was just released in January of 2018 is already available is almost 20 states.   

What is the must have drink on the menu?   

We are introducing a brand-new summer menu in May with 6 new Cold Brew Mocktails.   These are: Cold Brew Sour, Coffee Soda, Island Brew, Cold Brew Mojito, Cascara Fizz and a Malted Nitro Cold Brew.  These are all delicious and unique.  The Island Brew is our original cold brew coffee, ginger, and pineapple juice, garnished with a lemon.  I think this is going to be one of the more popular drinks in the summer.

What is your favorite thing to do in Saugatuck?

Going up Mt. Baldhead.  It's a difficult climb of over 300 stairs but the view is beautiful it's a great workout.   There are also very good food options in the area, so eating out in the area is always a great pleasure.