Strange Matter Coffee

What Strange Matter Coffee does

Strange Matter Coffee is a privately held, founder-owned specialty coffee company founded in 2014 in Lansing, Michigan, by owner Cara Nader, a 22+ year coffee industry veteran and former World Latte Art Championships competitor. The company operates three retail cafes in the Lansing area: an Eastside flagship on Michigan Avenue with 40+ seats, a Downtown Lansing location (35+ seats, recently expanded into two neighboring suites with breakfast and lunch food vendors Bangos and Babe's Corner), and an MSU Union outpost on the Michigan State University campus. All three locations serve hot and cold espresso and specialty beverages, fresh-baked pastries, and signature 'froggy-eyed' doughnuts from an on-site bakery, alongside in-house roasted whole bean coffee and branded merchandise.

The business combines an in-house roastery and bakery with brick-and-mortar retail, direct-to-consumer e-commerce shipping within the continental US via USPS/UPS, and a monthly coffee subscription program with self-serve account management. Revenue streams span in-cafe beverage and bakery sales, online whole bean and merchandise sales, recurring subscriptions, gift cards (physical and digital), and catering services available across all three locations with 2-3 business day lead times. Technology infrastructure is limited to standard third-party tools — Toasttab powers POS, online ordering, and gift cards across all locations; standard email and payment processors handle DTC transactions.

The company is bootstrapped with no institutional funding, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed parent company. Distribution is intentionally narrow: physical presence is concentrated in Greater Lansing, and e-commerce is restricted to the continental United States. As of June 23, 2026, bean sales and subscriptions are temporarily suspended due to an in-house roaster outage, illustrating single-point operational risk in the production stack. Marketing is local and primarily word-of-mouth, supported by a website, email newsletter, and organic social media.

Name

Strange Matter Coffee

Legal name

Strange Matter Coffee

Website

https://strangemattercoffee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Strange Matter Coffee is a privately held Lansing, Michigan specialty coffee company founded in 2014, operating three cafes (Eastside flagship, Downtown, MSU Union) with in-house roasting, a bakery, coffee subscriptions, e-commerce merchandise sales, and catering services for local consumers and MSU students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Shop & Roastery

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Espresso Bars & Coffee Bars (THAFADAD)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roastery
• Craft coffee shop
• Fresh bakery pastries
• Coffee subscription service
• Event coffee catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Lansing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Beverage Sales: In-store coffee and drink sales across three cafe locations. Premium craft coffee beverages including espresso drinks, cold brew, and specialty drinks.
2. Whole Bean Coffee Sales: Roasted coffee beans sold online and in-store for home brewing. Subscription model available for recurring deliveries.
3. Bakery/Doughnut Sales: Fresh-baked goods including signature 'froggy-eyed doughnuts', croissants, and other pastries sold at cafe locations.
4. Merchandise: Branded apparel including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, stickers, and magnets sold through online store and in-cafes.
5. Catering Services: Bulk coffee and baked goods orders for events. Minimum 2-3 business days advance notice required. MSU Union and both cafe locations offer catering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Strange Matter Coffee operates three retail coffee shops in Lansing, Michigan (Eastside flagship, Downtown, and MSU Union campus), runs an in-house roastery producing whole bean coffee, and operates an on-site bakery producing fresh doughnuts, croissants, and other pastries. It sells branded merchandise and brewing gear through an online store, ships within the continental United States, and offers bulk catering for events.

Product overview

Strange Matter Coffee is a locally owned coffee company operating three cafe locations in Lansing, Michigan (Eastside, Downtown, and MSU Union) plus a roastery and bakery. The company offers a unified experience combining in-store cafe services with an online retail store. The core product portfolio centers on freshly roasted whole bean coffee and in-store coffee beverages, supplemented by coffee subscription services for recurring deliveries. The online shop extends the brand through merchandise (apparel, hats, stickers), brewing gear accessories, and gift cards. Catering services provide bulk bakery and beverage orders for events. The company ships within the continental United States and processes payments through third-party providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whole Bean Coffee Freshly roasted whole bean coffee available for home brewing, sold via the online shop and at all three cafe locations.
• Coffee Subscriptions Recurring coffee delivery service allowing customers to set schedules and manage, pause, skip, or cancel subscriptions through their account dashboard.
• Merchandise Branded apparel and accessories including t-shirts ($21.99), sweatshirts ($49.99), trucker hats ($31.99), stickers ($3-$7.99), and magnets ($7.99) featuring Strange Matter branding and local Lansing designs.
• Brewing Gear Coffee brewing equipment and accessories such as paper filters for drippers, sold alongside beans and merchandise.
• Catering Services Bulk food and beverage catering for events, offering doughnuts, bakery items, and drinks. Available from MSU Union, Eastside, and Downtown locations with minimum lead times of 2-3 business days.
• Gift Cards Physical and digital gift cards available for purchase, redeemable at all Strange Matter Coffee locations.
• In-Store Cafe Offerings Hot and cold coffee beverages, specialty drinks, espresso, cold brew, and food items including signature 'froggy-eyed doughnuts' and baked goods available at all three cafe locations.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Michigan State University (MSU Union)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampus cafe partnership with MSU Student Union building. Small outpost on first floor serving coffee and pastries to students, faculty, and visitors. Unique relationship involving background checks for employees due to MSU partnership. Building access controlled after 6pm requiring MSU ID.
• BangosminorOthersBreakfast vendor operating at Downtown Lansing location. Closed Monday, open Tue-Fri 8am-1pm, Weekends 8am-2pm. Provides breakfast food alongside coffee service.
• Babe's CornerminorOthersLunch vendor operating at Downtown Lansing location. Closed Monday and Sunday, open Tue-Sat 11am-6pm. Provides lunch fare to complement coffee service.
• ToasttabcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline ordering and POS platform provider. Powers online ordering for all three cafe locations and catering orders. Handles gift card management. Used for marketing signup integration.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Verve Coffee Roasters: Santa Cruz-origin specialty roaster operating cafés, subscription, and DTC. Comparable to Strange Matter across the roastery + café + subscription trifecta and the craft-coffee positioning, though larger and West Coast-based.
• Colectivo Coffee: Milwaukee-based specialty roaster with a regional café footprint, in-house bakery, and wholesale business. Comparable to Strange Matter as a Midwest roastery-café with integrated bakery and strong local brand, though operating across multiple Wisconsin locations.
• MadCap Coffee: Grand Rapids, Michigan-based specialty roaster operating cafés plus a national DTC and subscription business. Closely comparable to Strange Matter in that it combines in-house roasting, café retail, and subscriptions, but operates at a larger scale and broader geography.

Broad incumbents

• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Portland-born specialty roaster with cafés, wholesale, and DTC subscriptions. Comparable to Strange Matter on roastery-café-retail model and subscription business, but operates nationally with a much larger footprint and acquired by a major conglomerate.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Chicago-based specialty roaster with direct-trade sourcing, retail cafés, and wholesale distribution. Comparable to Strange Matter on the roaster-plus-café specialty model, though at a national scale and now part of a larger portfolio.
• Blue Bottle Coffee: Craft coffee roaster and café operator with a focus on fresh-roasted, single-origin beans and a national café footprint plus DTC. Comparable business model (in-house roastery, cafés, subscriptions) but at substantially greater scale and now owned by a major food and beverage group.

Regional players

• Biggby Coffee: Michigan-founded specialty coffee chain with hundreds of locations across the Midwest. Directly comparable to Strange Matter as a Michigan-rooted coffee brand, though significantly larger and franchised rather than founder-operated roastery-cafés.
• Sweetwater Coffee & Tea: Michigan-based specialty coffee and tea café chain serving the Midwest. Comparable to Strange Matter as a Michigan-rooted café operator offering coffee plus bakery/food, though operating a franchised multi-location model rather than roastery-cafés.
• Black Owl Coffee: Small-batch roaster with cafés and a focus on craft coffee in a single regional market. Highly comparable in scale and operating model to Strange Matter as an independent roastery-café, though not Michigan-based.

Emerging players

• Onyx Coffee Lab: Specialty roaster with competition-winning pedigree, cafés, and a strong DTC/subscription presence. Comparable to Strange Matter on the founder-pedigree + competition + craft positioning axis, with a national DTC reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/strangemattercoffee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strange-matter-coffee-co.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strange Matter Coffee