Biggby ‘Store No. 1’ says final goodbyes

This story has been updated.

After 24 years of service, Biggby’s original location is closing. But before you get too choked up, its new home awaits right across the street on the first floor of the 300 Grand Apartments, located at 300 W. Grand River Ave.

The coffee outlet on 270 W. Grand River Ave. will close Friday (Dec. 20). To honor the memories made by customers, the company announced two photo contests. The first contest winner was Logan Wood, a recent graduate of Michigan State University, who won for her exterior shot of the building amid the pink clouds of dawn. She said she took the photo last week after stopping by the café during her morning commute to work. Her winning photograph, which earned her $20 gift card, and will be prominently displayed at the new location.

“I’m looking forward to the new place being fast and modern, but I will miss the old place too because it was cozy,” said Wood.

A second photo contest was announced Monday as well. Fans can submit interior shots of the original shop for a chance to win a $20 Biggby gift card. The submission process is not centralized. The company is collecting submissions via the “Biggby Coffee 517 (Grand River Avenue)” Facebook page or dropping off photos at its office located at 2501 Coolidge Road Suite 302, East Lansing. The winner will be announced Thursday (Dec. 19).

The new coffee shop is expected to open “around the new year” and will feature a large meeting table with built-in electrical outlets, according to General Manager Rebekah Butcko. Butcko said the new apartment-version of Biggby will also feature a drive thru window — a modern staple for the chain coffeehouse.

“Back when Bob Fish founded Biggby, he would never have fathomed that people would want a coffee drive-thru. He didn’t even know if there would be enough coffee lovers to sustain a company like Biggby in East Lansing,” Butcko said.

The new location will also have a “nice, fresh feel,” Butcko said. Fathy Shetiah, the co-owner of Biggby on 270 W. Grand River Ave said the old Biggby location was getting difficult to maintain and an update was needed. He added that he and his brother have been in conversation with DTN Management Co., the owners of 300 Grand Apartments, about moving in for about five years.

Since opening in fall of 2016, DTN has been looking to find businesses to lesase space inside the high-rise student residence. The Shetiah brothers will be the first retailers in the apartment buildings.

Mohamed Shetiah bought the location from the CEO and founder of Biggby Coffee, nearly 20 years ago. The brothers collectively own 25 coffee outlets in Michigan and Ohio. 

Fathy Shetiah, who graduated from Michigan State University in 1999 with a degree in marketing, said coffee house culture has changed a great deal since his college days.

“I absolutely love the concept of Biggby,” he said. “Back then in my day, coffee shops were very different and I think Biggby has reenergized the coffee industry, especially here in Lansing.”

As for the former location, Brian Holland, the chief financial officer for DTN, said they have started negotiating a contract with Mohamed Shetiah to purchase the building.

"I have no idea what we will do with the building," Holland said.