Last Mile Cafe
Last Mile Cafe is a Black-owned and woman-owned specialty coffee roaster and retailer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, selling single-origin and blended coffees online and through a single physical cafe, with wholesale, catering, classes, and space rental as secondary streams.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersGrand Rapids, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Last Mile Cafe does
Last Mile Cafe is a privately held, Black-owned and woman-owned specialty coffee company founded in 2021 and based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, operating with 1-10 employees. It manufactures and sells roasted coffee blends and mugs through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site and a physical cafe location, supported by Square-based checkout that accepts CashApp, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and major card networks including JCB. The product line spans single-origin and blended roasts from Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Honduras, and Tanzania, with light, medium, medium-dark, and dark roast profiles, plus a decaf option and limited-edition releases using hip-hop and culturally inspired naming (Watch the Throne, God's Gumbo, Born to Run, The Lost Boy).
The company monetizes across five revenue streams: retail coffee sales (one-time), coffee classes (professional services), catering (professional services), wholesale/B2B supply with custom labeling (one-time), and back-room space rental (one-time). Its primary customer segment is individual coffee enthusiasts and home brewers seeking ethically sourced specialty coffee; a secondary segment comprises businesses purchasing wholesale coffee for offices, restaurants, and retailers, including custom-label opportunities. The brand positions sustainability and community impact as core differentiators, pledging 10% of revenue to charitable causes and using compostable packaging, while collaborating with local small businesses, sports teams, musicians, and artists. Education is delivered via home brewing guides and coffee classes, and the tech stack is a standard SMB stack — Square for commerce, reCAPTCHA for form protection, and Cloudflare Stream for hosted video — with no disclosed AI or proprietary technology layers.
Last Mile Cafe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Last Mile Cafe
- Website
- https://lastmile.cafe
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Last Mile Cafe is a Black-owned and woman-owned specialty coffee roaster and retailer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, selling single-origin and blended coffees online and through a single physical cafe, with wholesale, catering, classes, and space rental as secondary streams.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Last Mile Cafe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Beverages (2080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Coffee, Tea & Cacao Experiences (Roastery Tours, Tastings) (THAJAGAH)
Keywords
Where Last Mile Cafe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grand Rapids
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Last Mile Cafe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Retail Coffee Sales: Direct sales of roasted coffee beans and blends through e-commerce and physical cafe location
- Coffee Classes: Educational classes on coffee brewing and appreciation
- Catering Services: Coffee catering for events and gatherings
- Wholesale/B2B: Wholesale coffee supply to business partners, including custom labeling options
- Space Rental: Back room rental for events and gatherings
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Last Mile Cafe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Last Mile Cafe roasts and sells specialty coffee blends and single-origin coffees through its e-commerce storefront and a physical cafe in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to retail bagged coffee (light, medium, medium-dark, and dark roasts from origins such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Honduras, and Tanzania), the company offers complementary services including coffee catering for events, a wholesale partners program with custom labeling, back-room space rental, gift cards, and coffee brewing classes.
Product overview
Last Mile Cafe is a Black-owned and woman-owned specialty coffee company offering a curated portfolio of premium roasted coffee products. The core offering consists of single-origin and blended coffee roasts available for retail purchase online and in-café. These include light, medium, medium-dark, and dark roast options sourced from countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Honduras, Tanzania, and organic Ethiopian beans. Supporting the retail coffee business, the company offers complementary services including catering for events, a wholesale partners program for businesses, back room space rental, custom labeling for private label coffee, and gift cards. Educational offerings include coffee classes and home brewing guides. All products can be ordered online via Square-powered checkout with various payment methods including CashApp, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Watch the Throne: Limited Edition Kenyan Light Roast Limited Edition Kenyan coffee, lightly roasted to preserve and enhance tasting notes of red fruit and soft citrus with zippy acidity.
- God's Gumbo Blend A blend of Ethiopian, Honduran, and Colombian coffee beans.
- Grand Rapids Gold Roast Colombian Medium Roast coffee, named after Grand Rapids.
- The Sideline Story Tanzanian Medium Roast Coffee.
- Take Care Decaf Decaf Medium Roast Coffee.
- The Lost Boy Medium-Dark Roast Coffee.
- Born to Run Organic Ethiopian Dark Roast Coffee.
- Catering Services Coffee catering services for events and gatherings.
- Wholesale Partners Program Wholesale coffee supply program for business partners, including restaurants, offices, and retailers, with custom labeling options.
- Space Rental Back room rental for events and private gatherings at the cafe location.
- Custom Labeling Custom labeling services for coffee products, allowing businesses to feature their own brand on private label coffee.
- Coffee Classes Educational classes about coffee brewing and appreciation offered to consumers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10% of revenue donated to charitable causes
Companies that use Last Mile Cafe
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Last Mile Cafe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Last Mile Cafe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Various Small BusinessesminorCollaborative partnerships with small businesses for mutual promotion. The company expresses openness to feature other businesses through coffee collaborations, supporting cross-promotion within the local community.
- Sports TeamsminorCollaborations with sports teams on promotional events and coffee products. These partnerships help expand brand reach to sports fans and community members.
- Musicians and ArtistsminorCollaborative projects with musicians and artists, often reflected in their distinctive product naming inspired by hip-hop culture. These creative partnerships enhance brand identity and community engagement.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Last Mile Cafe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sip & Sonder: A Black-woman-founded specialty coffee roaster and cafe concept combining curated single-origin coffee with a community gathering space. Highly comparable identity-led DTC + cafe model targeting the same values-driven consumer.
- Onyx Coffee Lab: Specialty coffee roaster and cafe known for distinctive branding and limited-edition releases analogous to Last Mile's Watch the Throne Kenyan launch. Comparable specialty positioning and roastery-cafe model.
- Bluestone Lane Coffee Shop: Specialty cafe brand combining a distinctive lifestyle identity with a multi-location cafe footprint and DTC coffee sales. Comparable in combining brand storytelling with cafe operations and packaged coffee.
- Red Bay Coffee: Black-owned specialty coffee roaster with cafes, focused on community, culture, and ethically sourced beans. Direct peer on identity-driven positioning, roastery-cafe operations, and DTC.
- Counter Culture Coffee: Specialty coffee roaster known for single-origin transparency, sustainability, and education-forward positioning with wholesale and training programs. Comparable roastery-cafe-plus-education model.
- Madcap Coffee: Specialty coffee roaster and cafe based in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a strong focus on single-origin sourcing and direct trade. Directly comparable in geography, roastery-cafe format, and specialty positioning.
- Verve Coffee Roasters: Independent specialty roaster with cafes and strong wholesale and DTC presence, with an emphasis on craft and origin storytelling. Comparable roastery-cafe-plus-education positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Blue Bottle Coffee: Large specialty coffee roaster and cafe chain with strong DTC and retail channels. Provides the broader incumbent benchmark for roastery-cafe economics and specialty positioning at scale.
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster operating cafes and broad wholesale distribution including foodservice. Comparable in operating roastery-cafes alongside wholesale and DTC channels.
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Established specialty roaster with cafe locations, DTC subscriptions, and wholesale distribution. Comparable roastery-cafe-plus-wholesale model at greater scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Last Mile Cafe social profiles
Digital presenceLast Mile Cafe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Last Mile Cafe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Last Mile Cafe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Last Mile Cafe M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Last Mile Cafe
What does Last Mile Cafe do?
Last Mile Cafe roasts and sells specialty coffee blends and single-origin coffees through its e-commerce storefront and a physical cafe in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to retail bagged coffee (light, medium, medium-dark, and dark roasts from origins such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Honduras, and Tanzania), the company offers complementary services including coffee catering for events, a wholesale partners program with custom labeling, back-room space rental, gift cards, and coffee brewing classes.
Is Last Mile Cafe a public or private company?
Last Mile Cafe is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Last Mile Cafe founded?
Last Mile Cafe was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Last Mile Cafe based?
Last Mile Cafe is headquartered in Grand Rapids, United States, in the North America region.
How does Last Mile Cafe make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Retail Coffee Sales are the primary driver. The others are coffee Classes, catering Services, wholesale/B2B and space Rental.
Who are Last Mile Cafe's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sip & Sonder, Onyx Coffee Lab, Bluestone Lane Coffee Shop, Red Bay Coffee, Counter Culture Coffee, Madcap Coffee and Verve Coffee Roasters. Broad incumbents are Blue Bottle Coffee, La Colombe Coffee Roasters and Stumptown Coffee Roasters.
Does Last Mile Cafe have an API?
No public API is recorded for Last Mile Cafe.
What industry is Last Mile Cafe in?
Last Mile Cafe's product category is Specialty Coffee. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAE, Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes), with a secondary code of CRAHAGAI, Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories). Its NAICS code is 311920 and its SIC code is 5810.