Espy Cafe Opens in Ann Arbor with House-Roasted Coffee and Worker-First Model
Sam Schaefer and Peter Littlejohn didn’t set out to run a coffee shop. The two met studying music at the University of Michigan, played in bands together, and eventually started talking about what it might look like to build something that reflected how they actually wanted to work—equal pay, shared decision-making, and no hierarchy for its own sake.
Espy Cafe opened this month at 404 W Huron Street in Ann Arbor, and the coffee is only part of the equation.
House-Roasted, Equity-Sourced
Unlike many new cafes that partner with established roasters, Schaefer and Littlejohn roast their own beans on-site. Green coffees come through Semilla and Sundog Trading, both importers known for transparency and equity-focused relationships with producers. The cafe commits to multi-year partnerships with individual farming projects rather than buying whatever’s cheapest on the spot market.
Espresso runs through two single-group Decent DE1XXL machines—the digitally controlled brewer popular with home enthusiasts and competition baristas—ground fresh on a Mahlkönig EK43. The equipment signals seriousness about extraction without the showiness of a massive multi-group machine.
Every drink comes with A2 dairy or Ope Milk, Espy’s house-made oat alternative.
Scratch Everything
The food menu reads more like a restaurant than a cafe. A chermoula-harissa trout sandwich arrives on house-made Palestinian taboon bread. Salads feature pistachio aillade. Apple soda is made in-house, along with hazelnut orgeat syrup and everything else that goes into the drinks.
This is scratch cooking applied to coffee service—labour-intensive, harder to scale, and increasingly rare in an industry that defaults to pre-made syrups and commissary pastries.
Local Craft in Every Detail
Carpenter Jim Pudar built the custom wooden furniture from Michigan hard maple and red oak. Ceramicist Anna Schwartz of Ypsi Clay House threw over 300 pieces by hand—every cup, mug, and vessel that crosses the counter came from a local studio.
The space itself reflects the same collaborative approach: long communal tables designed to encourage conversation, a layout meant for lingering rather than quick turnover.
The Worker-Centered Model
This is where Espy diverges most sharply from standard cafe operations. Every team member earns the same hourly wage. Decisions get made democratically. Profits—when they arrive—will be shared based on hours worked.
The founders describe their long-term goal as full worker ownership, though current SBA loan requirements prevent that structure from taking effect immediately. The intention is baked into how they run the business while they work toward making it legally official.
Equal pay and profit-sharing remain uncommon in food service, where wage gaps between front-of-house staff, baristas, and kitchen workers often go unquestioned. Espy is betting that treating the whole team as partners—not just employees—produces better work and better coffee.
Why This Matters
Ann Arbor already has solid specialty options, but Espy brings something different: a house-roasting program built on transparent sourcing, a scratch kitchen that takes food as seriously as extraction, and a workplace model designed around equity rather than hierarchy.
The Decent espresso machines signal technical ambition. The multi-year importer commitments signal values. The profit-sharing signals that the people pulling shots will directly benefit when the business succeeds.
Schaefer and Littlejohn started as musicians, not coffee professionals. They worked with Josh Longsdorf at Anthology Coffee in Detroit during the transition, borrowing equipment and storage space while they figured out logistics. The collaboration reflects how specialty coffee often works—established shops mentoring newcomers, knowledge passing through the community.
Espy Cafe is open now at 404 W Huron Street in Ann Arbor, on the western edge of downtown.