517 Coffee Expands its Area in Lansing with Roastery and Bar

The Probat UG 15 at the 517 Coffee roastery in Lansing, Michigan. Photo by Vincent Morse Photography, courtesy of 517.

Michigan’s 517 517 Coffee Company is ringing in the arrival of its new coffee bar inside its newly acquired roastery in Lansing.

The coffee company took over a coffee production facility inside the Potter’s Mill building in the Baker-Donora neighborhood last year, and more recently began serving espresso drinks, brews, snacks and bagged coffees from a second-floor bar overlooking a lobby space. 

Some seating is available in the wide-open ground-floor space, where an aquatic mural splashes color across one wall and a pay-what-you-can drip coffee station operates on the honor system.

The ground-floor lobby area of the Potter’s Mill building in Lansing. Photo by Vincent Morse Photography, courtesy of 517.

“It’s kinda weird, but it works,” 517 Coffee Co-Founder James Defrees told Daily Coffee News. “The lounge is the first-floor lobby area. It was previously unused. The building manager is letting us use the space free of charge in exchange for activating the space for the tenants and the public.”

The 1889 building, a former furniture factory, is also occupied by a marijuana grower and manufacturer, three aestheticians, a salon, residential lofts, a crossfit gym and residential lofts.

James and Amanda Defrees founded 517 Coffee in 2014, selling roasted coffees at farmers markets. In 2021, they expanded into their first brick-and-mortar shop in Lansing where roasting continued in-house on a 3-kilo Mill City Roasters machine. That equipment remains on the display but is no longer in use.

Photo by Vincent Morse Photography, courtesy of 517.

After initially focusing only on roasting and drip brews, that shop has since added espresso with a 31-year-old workhorse Astoria machine.

“We make all of our syrups, chai concentrate, and soon horchata from scratch,” said Defrees. “Since moving our roasting out of that building, we have started to bake bread to make hipster toast and basic grilled cheese sandwiches. Also, our coffee shrub is producing cherries, which is random but pretty cool.”

In January of 2023, 517 acquired the brand and assets of another local coffee company, Craft & Mason Coffee Roasters, for $140,000. Through the purchase, 517 gained a 2017 Probat UG 15 roaster, as well as the 600-square-foot space where it was installed.

Photo by Vincent Morse Photography, courtesy of 517.

An additional 200 square feet remains for storage and future expansion, as 517 seeks to increase direct interactions with green coffee producers. Over the past year-and-a-half, 517 established direct relationships with producers in Brazil, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Colombia, whose coffees altogether account for approximately 60% the roasting company’s volume.

“Our goal is of course 100%,” said Defrees. “In establishing these relationships, we have also been speaking to producers about and sampling experimental processes and Gesha coffees. These are offerings that are not often found in our area, and we’d love to see them represented.”

Toast. Photo by Vincent Morse Photography, courtesy of 517.

To further stoke the local appetite exotic for rare or experimental coffees, 517 has taken the lead in organizing a Lansing-wide coffee tour with five additional cafes participating now through Dec. 7.

“Lansing’s coffee scene is under-appreciated,” said Defrees. “In short, we are seeking to push coffee forward locally in offerings, collaboration and appreciation.”

517 Coffee Co. at Potter’s Mill is located at 701 E South St., #204, Lansing. Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. 

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