Simply Roasted
owner Abi Simmons (left) and her daughter, Aubrey, 10, wait on customers at the
newly-opened coffee shop in Borculo.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Abi Simmons’ life journey has taken her from her native Borculo, to East Lansing, to New York City, to Philadelphia…and now back to Borculo.
And those life experiences, including putting herself through college by working as a barista near the Michigan State University campus and 20 years as a medical social worker, have led Simmons and her husband, Greg, to open their own coffee shop in the town she grew up in.
Simply Roasted opened its doors in late June at the northwest corner of 96th Avenue and Port Sheldon Street. For many years dating back from the early 1960s, the small brick building on that corner consisted of a barber shop and hair salon, owned by husband and wife Joe and Vivian VanderKooi.
Joe VanderKooi sold the building earlier this year to Clark DeGlopper. Simmons had her eye on the building, but initially hesitated to reach out to DeGlopper.
“I had Clark’s number for two weeks, and I waited to call him,” she said.
Finally, acting on her gut, Simmons made the call. “He said he never answers the phone, but at the end of the conversation, he was glad he did,” she said.
Simmons’ desire was to create a gathering place for the Borculo community, where young and old can meet and connect. She was confident that people were looking for face-to-face connection after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need a place where everybody feels welcomed and loved, and they can bring themselves here, just as they are,” said Simmons, a mother of four who graduated from Zeeland High School in 2004 and earned bachelor’s and master’s in social work at MSU.
LoriJo Schepers, founder and executive director of Barnabas Ministries, frequents Simply Roasted several times a week. Schepers remembers Simmons from when Simmons was a volunteer at Barnabas as a high school student.
“There’s so many different ages, races, reasons for people to connect, and this is the perfect place for all of them, to be able to connect,” Schepers said.
In an effort to help build more connections, Simmons created a children’s play area fashioned like a coffee shop, where kids can pretend to be a barista while a parent can get a few minutes of time to relax and maybe talk to a friend or fellow parent.
Simmons hasn’t had to look far to find people to work at the café. Christina Rosel used to own her own commercial cleaning business before coming to work at Simply Roasted as its lead barista.
“I like it when we’re busy, I like it when we have a little down time,” Rosel said.
Another worker came to work at Simply Roasted after having been a teacher. Now, she helps train new baristas, Simmons said.
Even the kids get involved in the business. Simmons’ two oldest children, 11-year-old Addison and 10-year-old Aubrey, help out behind the counter.
Simply Roasted recently instituted online ordering, where anyone can place their order ahead of time and then come in and pick up their coffee from the shelf in the back hallway without having to wait.
As far as how the business is performing so far, Simmons says Simply Roasted is “definitely paying our bills.” But she sees success for the business much more holistically than just the bottom line.
“My success is when somebody walks in, and somebody’s waiting for a coffee, and they start tearing because they haven’t seen each other in 15 years. That’s me,” Simmons said.
Simply Roasted is open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The shop is closed Sundays. You can find more information on the shop’s website at simplyroasted.org or on their Facebook page.
Zeeland Record
Abi Simmons’ life journey has taken her from her native Borculo, to East Lansing, to New York City, to Philadelphia…and now back to Borculo.
And those life experiences, including putting herself through college by working as a barista near the Michigan State University campus and 20 years as a medical social worker, have led Simmons and her husband, Greg, to open their own coffee shop in the town she grew up in.
Simply Roasted opened its doors in late June at the northwest corner of 96th Avenue and Port Sheldon Street. For many years dating back from the early 1960s, the small brick building on that corner consisted of a barber shop and hair salon, owned by husband and wife Joe and Vivian VanderKooi.
Joe VanderKooi sold the building earlier this year to Clark DeGlopper. Simmons had her eye on the building, but initially hesitated to reach out to DeGlopper.
“I had Clark’s number for two weeks, and I waited to call him,” she said.
Finally, acting on her gut, Simmons made the call. “He said he never answers the phone, but at the end of the conversation, he was glad he did,” she said.
Simmons’ desire was to create a gathering place for the Borculo community, where young and old can meet and connect. She was confident that people were looking for face-to-face connection after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need a place where everybody feels welcomed and loved, and they can bring themselves here, just as they are,” said Simmons, a mother of four who graduated from Zeeland High School in 2004 and earned bachelor’s and master’s in social work at MSU.
LoriJo Schepers, founder and executive director of Barnabas Ministries, frequents Simply Roasted several times a week. Schepers remembers Simmons from when Simmons was a volunteer at Barnabas as a high school student.
“There’s so many different ages, races, reasons for people to connect, and this is the perfect place for all of them, to be able to connect,” Schepers said.
In an effort to help build more connections, Simmons created a children’s play area fashioned like a coffee shop, where kids can pretend to be a barista while a parent can get a few minutes of time to relax and maybe talk to a friend or fellow parent.
Simmons hasn’t had to look far to find people to work at the café. Christina Rosel used to own her own commercial cleaning business before coming to work at Simply Roasted as its lead barista.
“I like it when we’re busy, I like it when we have a little down time,” Rosel said.
Another worker came to work at Simply Roasted after having been a teacher. Now, she helps train new baristas, Simmons said.
Even the kids get involved in the business. Simmons’ two oldest children, 11-year-old Addison and 10-year-old Aubrey, help out behind the counter.
Simply Roasted recently instituted online ordering, where anyone can place their order ahead of time and then come in and pick up their coffee from the shelf in the back hallway without having to wait.
As far as how the business is performing so far, Simmons says Simply Roasted is “definitely paying our bills.” But she sees success for the business much more holistically than just the bottom line.
“My success is when somebody walks in, and somebody’s waiting for a coffee, and they start tearing because they haven’t seen each other in 15 years. That’s me,” Simmons said.
Simply Roasted is open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The shop is closed Sundays. You can find more information on the shop’s website at simplyroasted.org or on their Facebook page.
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