This story first appeared in Michigan Chronicle’s Small Business Month special tab, found here.
It’s been about two years since Charity Dean opened Rosa Detroit on Grand River Avenue in the city’s Grandmont Rosedale Park neighborhood.
It’s a place where nearby residents find comfort not just in enjoying their morning cups of Joe, but also making bonds and establishing relationships with their neighbors and other coffee connoisseurs.
“It’s grandma’s house,” Dean said.
Dean’s great-grandmother Rosa Malone was one of the first Black homeowners to move into Rosedale Park in 1973. Her journey to her home on Rosemont was a difficult one, marked by struggle and triumph, as many of the white neighbors and even the homeowner’s realtor did not want integration of this neighborhood. Nevertheless, Rosa and her husband Elijah persevered and successfully purchased the home, where she remained nearly 46 years.
Now, Dean is taking her great-grandmother’s name, and the coffee shop that represents her legacy, to Detroit’s riverfront with the addition of a second Detroit Rosa location inside the Residences at Water Square.
“Well, you know it’s interesting. Someone recently asked about the first Rosa location. It’s not something that I necessarily planned for, but just in conversations with the folks in this space, they were really intentional about wanting to make sure that whoever occupied the space is a minority-owned business,” she said. “This is the only retail space in the building, so it’s an amazing opportunity for me and for the organization, I’m super excited about it.”
As the head of the Michigan Business Alliance, Dean was in conversation with the developers of the Residences at Water Square about filling the retail space on the ground floor of the new residential tower, and she said that made the opportunity feel organic and genuine.
“With Rosa in Rosedale Park, someone reached out to me because the coffee shop in the neighborhood was for sale. It was Public Square – a coffee shop owned by two guys who came in, opened up, and after about a year, they were ready to move on and leave the state. I’m very active in that neighborhood…and someone asked me if I knew anyone who would be interested [in the opportunity]. I said, ‘Me. Because I’m obsessed with coffee,’” Dean said.
“That’s similar to how this new opportunity came to be. They were very intentional about wanting to make sure that they had a business that reflected their community and the space and so I’m really excited to hopefully be open this summer.”
The new space will look and feel different than the location on Grand River. While the original Detroit Rosa has that “grandma’s house” feeling that Dean described, the riverfront location will feel more like a city café, where patrons order their coffee and baked goods on-the-move. It will be accessible to both residents of the Residences at Water Square as well as the general public, and it will provide a respite for people who are visiting the world-renowned RiverWalk. In addition to the coffee shop, there will also be a market stocked with fresh produce, home essentials, and ready-to-eat light bites, making for a unique grab-and-go experience.
“A Black business on the riverfront – that excites me so much. But also, it’s not just going to be Rosa downtown. When Rosa comes, it’s not just Rosa. I’m bringing other Black businesses with me,” said Dean.
“For example, I don’t roast my own coffee. I get my coffee from a local Black Detroit coffee roaster. So now, this opportunity isn’t just for Rosa. My public relations, my lawyer, my other business associates, my graphic designer, my employees, they’re all Black. So, I’m excited for a Black business on the riverfront, but I’m excited to be able to support other Black businesses.”
Dean also made it a point to acknowledge the recent conversations around town about the seeming lack of affordability of the residences that will sit atop Rosa’s new location. Living at Water Square isn’t cheap, with rents ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 for most units.
“I’m Detroit all day. And Black people deserve luxury, too. I talk about this a lot, but sometimes in Detroit we focus too much on the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor,” she said.
“Black, middle-class people are trying to ascend and build wealth. So the idea that we have an opportunity to live in a community like this and have a Black-owned coffee shop in that dope community speaks volumes. I think that is Detroit. We’re not just our hard times. We’re not just people who are struggling. We’re so dynamic and there’s so much more to us than what people often try to paint us. We’re trying to get this money and ascend, and we deserve these spaces. Detroit is resource rich, and diverse, and I love it, and I feel like this is where we’re supposed to be.”
Mostly, though, she emphasized how Detroit Rosa is less about just being a café, but it’s more about the family legacy that prevails each time someone experiences it.
“My great-grandmother’s story continues to be told in a city that wasn’t always as welcoming to Black people – Black businesses – when she moved here. Her story is being told and her story is being heard by people who wouldn’t have known her otherwise, and it’s really a testament to the pride of Black Detroiters in the city.”
About Post Author
