Clairmont's Coffee, Clinton County's first Cops & Doughnuts retailer, opens Tuesday
Rachel GrecoST. JOHNS - The city's newest independent coffee house will open its doors in downtown Tuesday morning, offering craft coffee drinks and more than 40 dozen Cops & Doughnuts treats.
Clairmont's Coffee will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday in a renovated 1,600-square-foot space at 127 N. Clinton Avenue, just a block from the Clinton County Courthouse.
As Clinton County's first Cops & Doughnuts retailer, the new business will carry a large selection of the Michigan bakery's selections courtesy of its partnership with Cops & Doughnuts - Capital Precinct.
Heidi Williams, co-owner of the Delta Township Cops & Doughnuts location, said their customers have wanted a place to purchase the bakery's treats in Clinton County.
Amber Haubert, who's opening Clairmont's with Audie Clairmont, said they will offer some of the bakery's most popular fried confections when they open Tuesday.
Among them will be the jelly-filled and frosted bismarcks, a Bacon Squealer, which is an unfilled long john topped with maple frosting and two strips of crispy bacon, and its Cousin Vinny, a fried cinnamon roll covered in maple frosting and three strips of bacon.
Haubert said the business will have 42 dozen doughnuts and muffins on hand for Tuesday's opening. That number will be adjusted according to demand in the coming weeks.
But Clairmont's Coffee's main focus will be coffee, she said.
Staff will offer pour-over and French press coffee, specialty coffee drinks like lattes, cappuccinos, mochas and brew coffee. , Haubert said,
"That’s what were about," she said. "We take the time to dial in everything. Everything we produce will be fresh."
When they open, they'll offer coffee roasted by a company in Midland, with eventual plans to roast their own beans on site.
The menu will soon include some specialty items as well, including Acai bowls, which Haubert described as smoothie bowls made with chia seeds, granola and fruit.
Clairmont's will offer toast options, made with avocado and peanut butter, honey, bananas,and cinnamon, along with affogato, an Italian coffee-based dessert that will be made in-house with gelato, espresso, nuts, candy and caramel.
Fresh fruit and protein smoothies will be part of the menu too, Haubert said.
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The space was once home to an apparel store dedicated to selling St. Johns Public Schools' Redwings gear. More recently, it was an e-cigarette business. It sports an international feel now, with world maps on the walls, globes decorating tables, a leather couch and lounging chair and more than 50 seats.
About $70,000 was invested in the redesign.
The new coffee shop's motto is "Make a difference. Drink coffee. Inspire love."
“It’s about building relationships," Clairmont said last month, when the pair was still readying the space. "It’s serving people to the best of your ability. It’s sharing with them what coffee’s really all about.”
Haubert said getting ready to open the doors has been hard work.
"We’ve just been preparing in every way possible to make it the most comfortable setting so everything runs smoothly, she said. "I’m really excited. It honestly is a dream come true, but it’s come with lots of sleepless nights and years of hard work."
The business opening was announced in October, and Haubert said the community's reaction has been positive.
"I think St Johns needed a place like this, a place to gather together," she said. "It will be nice to see everyone enjoy this place. It’s going to be a home away from home for a lot of people."
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.
If you go
What: Clairmont's Coffee. Visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Clairmontscoffee/ .
Where: 127 N. Clinton Ave., in downtown St. Johns. Contact them at (989) 534-2687.
When: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.