Mighty Good Coffee relaunches under new ownership

Michigan-based Mighty Good Coffee has relaunched under new ownership and relocated its roasting operations to Dexter, where a new café concept, training lab, and roasting facility are being developed. 

At the helm are new owners Mike Huget of Ann Arbor and James Levinson of New Haven, Conn., as well as a new managing director, Jess Harmon. Harmon, a 15-year coffee industry professional, will oversee key changes, including transparent sourcing that prioritizes women and marginalized communities, public education, and redesigning internal systems to ensure fair pay and equitable hiring.

“I feel like my niche is the revamp and rebrand. I just have always come in and sort of picked up people’s messes. I’ve been really good at taking situations that weren’t great and finding the next moves forward,” Harmon says. “I did that with Literati [bookstore in Ann Arbor] as the espresso bar left. I did that at Cultivate [Coffee and Taphouse in Ypsilanti]. Their coffee program was struggling, and we turned it into a very successful program with a coffee roastery.”

Mighty Good’s four cafes were shuttered in 2019 in the midst of worker unionization efforts and allegations of unfair labor practices, although then-co-owner Nic Sims told MLive the closure was due to “family issues.”

“There was an employee not being paid fairly, and they might have been the only person of color at that time. They raised concerns, it snowballed from there, and the staff started to unionize,” Harmon says. “It left a mark on this coffee community in a way that bothered me.” 

Moving forward, Harmon is especially excited about the potential of the new café, tentatively named Notable. It will be housed in the Jolly Pumpkin building, and Harmon says the menu will feature “really awesome pastries and food.” The space will also serve as a community hub. 

“We have an outdoor space that we’re gonna add a propane chimney to and have little movie nights,” Harmon says. “We’re going to work with Jolly Pumpkin to make it a truly activated space where people can come and be part of the community together.”

Fun learning opportunities are also on the menu. Visitors might pop in to learn about home roasting for beginners, or take an espresso latte decorating class. An area with coffee machines will allow people to try before they buy. 

“I want people to have notable experiences, whether it’s with the coffee or whether it’s with creating community,” Harmon says. “Coffee is the place where people come together. It might just be a liquid, but it really is a place of union and meeting.”