‘We want to build a community.’ Lexington coffee shop to open 2nd site by busy roads
When Sam and Maddie Duff opened Manchester Coffee on Manchester Street in March 2019, they wanted to make great coffee.
They also wanted to give people who don’t work in traditional brick-and-mortar offices a place to connect with others and feel welcome.
“We also saw an opportunity to invest in a growing area,” Maddie Duff said of the original Manchester Coffee location adjacent to Manchester Music Hall in the booming Distillery District corridor.
The same is true with Manchester Coffee’s soon-to-be-opened second location in the MET, a new mixed-use commercial and residential development on the corner of Midland Avenue and Third Streets. It’s a great location that also allows Manchester Coffee to help with a pressing need in that area — a lack of food and dining options.
“That area is a food desert,” Sam Duff said.
The Duffs also liked the mission of the building’s nonprofit developer Community Ventures to provide affordable housing and employment along with more food options. DV8 kitchen has already announced it will put a second location in the complex. Officials with the MET have said other tenants will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
“We are big fans of DV8 and their mission,” Maddie Duff said.
DV8 has provided jobs to those who are in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
The location also helps the business. The MET will offer a chance to expand Manchester Coffee’s audience to another section of town and to commuters who travel the busy Winchester Road and Midland Avenue corridor to get downtown. The plans include designated parking spots for to-go or express orders, so people can hop out, go in, grab a coffee and go without fighting for a parking space, the Duffs said.
The site also offers plenty of parking for would-be customers who may want to linger in the coffee shop to work or study. Lots of parking is rare so close to downtown, the couple said.
The 2,500-square-foot ground-level space will be twice the size of the current location on Manchester. The plans include moving Manchester Coffee’s roaster to the MET location. Manchester Coffee also sells coffee wholesale in addition to its retail operation.
“Currently we have to roast off site,” Sam Duff said.
The Duffs are hoping the MET location will open by spring 2021. With coronavirus vaccines rolling out this month, the second location will likely open when the worst of the pandemic has passed.
“Our main goal when we opened Manchester Coffee was to serve great coffee,” said Maddie Duff. “But we also wanted to build an open, welcoming community around that coffee. We are excited to expand that community to the East End.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 10:22 AM.
