Angela Risk, a local entrepreneur, began her transformation of the former Midwest Power Equipment building at 1732 Hamilton Road last September. Her goal was to turn the approximately 5,000-square-foot building into a community-focused coffee house.
“A lot of people in Okemos know the place or their parents worked there or they knew people who worked there,” Risk told the LSJ. “It’s kind of a familiar building in Okemos that has just been sitting there, just waiting for me to turn it into a coffee shop.”
Okemos Coffee House is Risk’s first business, which Risk originally hoped to open by last November. However, the process took longer than anticipated. Now, Risk aims to open the doors by January.
“This is how I’m looking at it,” Risk said in a recent LSJ update. “I am a 40-year-old woman who’s been a stay-at-home mom for the last 20 years. I have a college education, but I’ve been out of business for a while, and so, this has been a learning journey.”
Okemos Coffee House intends to be an all-inclusive social gathering space for locals. The coffee shop will include two exterior murals and interior artwork done by area artists. The interior space will have 60 seats, according to the LSJ.
