IN THE BEGINNING

In 2002, I took my obsession with coffee to a whole ‘nother level by opening my own little coffee shop, Zanzabar Coffee and Espresso Bar on W. 25th St. across from the West Side Market. That small coffee shop made a name for itself and built a loyal following for our mocha “toddy”. Sadly, the shop only lasted a year, but that dream of owning a coffee shop never died.

Fast forward (really, let’s fast forward) to 2016. My coffee dream is coming back into focus, but now everybody’s talking about COLD BREW COFFEE. After figuring out it’s the same process we used to make our beloved mocha toddy, I set out on a mission to try this again. I was inspired to start my business again after watching the Cavaliers come from behind to WIN the 2016 NBA Championship. As I’m witnessing our team fight its way from a 3-1 deficit to tie the series, I told myself “if they win, I’ll do it”. So, in 2017 I started making and bottling my own unique blends of cold brew coffee. 

WHAT IS COLD BREW COFFEE?

It’s simply the process of brewing coffee without heat, that produces a slightly sweet, less acidic coffee with lots of caffeine! After saturating course ground coffee with cool water, it sits or “brews” anywhere from 12-24 hours. This produces a cold brew concentrate which is then used as the base for iced cold brew coffee, nitro cold brew coffee, coffee cocktails, or whatever you can imagine adding cold brewed coffee to!

A DREAM COME TRUE

I started off selling bottles of cold brew coffee at local farmers’ markets and events like Laurel Live. Local retailers including Cathy’s Creamery, Mayfield Smoke Shop, Bloom Bakery, and the Marriott AC Hotel at Pinecrest also carried my bottled cold brew. As the brand’s popularity grew, customers kept asking, “Where else can we buy this, it’s so good!”

 In 2019 I entered a Shark Tank-like pitch competition to be a part of Mayor Frank Jackson’s Neighborhood Transformation Retail Incubator program in Glenville. As a winner, I got the opportunity to open a full-service coffee shop which was a dream come true!  By the grace of God we survived the Covid-19 shut down and major reconstruction of E.105th Street, and we’re still here!  At Cleveland Cold Brew Coffee & Cafe, we are your neighborhood coffee shop, offering a full lineup of coffee drinks from lattes and caramel macchiatos to breakfast sandwiches, grilled paninis, desserts, and Nitro Cold Brew Coffee.

Our vision is to Empower our community with jobs, Encourage others with our example of minority and female entrepreneurship, and Embrace everyone – all are welcome!

We know we’re one more brand with the name “Cleveland” in it, but to us that name, this city, proves that dreams do come true, and nothing is impossible…with a little COLD BREW!