Lansing resident Julie Ruark, back left, sits down to coffee and a salad with her son Ian, 7, and friends from church Kim Klepper, near right, and Brigette Amador at Gone Wired Cafe, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing. All live within walking distance of the cafe and keep coming back because of the “nice atmosphere, good food and good coffee,” said Klepper.
Opening a cafe was never part of Colleen Davis’s plan. And yet five years ago, Davis opened Gone Wired Cafe.
“When I was a student and a teacher, I would always go for places to study and to write and there weren’t any and I felt there was room for a cafe geared directly towards students and people who like to go to cafes to do their work,” Davis said.
Coffee and beverages are not the only things on the menu, however — breakfast, lunch and dinner are served.
Fair Trade Coffee skips the hands of the coffee trader, which allows the producer to receive a larger amount of pay. Some of the fair trade companies are Global Exchange and Equal Exchange. Whole foods are left in the most pure state and are as refined very little before consumption.
“We use fair trade and organic as much as we can and (are) using whole foods in our entire menu,” Davis said. “We don’t microwave any of our food. We cook it all fresh. We don’t use corn syrup and we don’t use lots of things that are kind of standard fare in a lot of restaurants. I wanted to keep out food so that I could eat it on a daily basis because I’m here all the time.”
Like most restaurants, Gone Wired Cafe, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, has its regulars that see something in the establishment that keeps them coming back. Lansing resident Paul Objibway isn’t a stranger to the cafe.
“I come here when I feel the need to play music in earshot of other people because I’m not supposed to hoard my music,” Objibway said.
Since Objibway grew up three doors down from the cafe, he has witnessed the building pass through the hands of several different businesses ranging from a bar to a camping store.
“Colleen breathed life into (this place) and made it into a great meeting place,” Objibway said.
What really makes Gone Wired Cafe different from other chain coffee shops is the atmosphere.
“We’re sort of designed to be (here) for someone to come and relax and study or read or work or play on their computer. We have lots of space for community groups, so we have a lot of space that other groups don’t have,” Davis said. “Starbucks Coffee Company and Biggby Coffee are intended to be more of an in-and-out coffee type place where we’re not really meant to be that.”
This is the second summer that Claudia Davis, a Lansing resident, has worked at Gone Wired Cafe.
“We get a lot of cool people and it’s not stressful like a lot of other places,” Claudia Davis said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s pressure from customers or staff. It’s like we’re a family. It’s great.”
If someone had told Colleen Davis how much time would be consumed, she may have given her idea more thought.
“I’ve heard this said before, but I think I probably would have paused more had I known how much work it really was,” Colleen Davis said. “It takes your entire life to run a business. You’re always thinking about it. If you’re not always working, then you’re always thinking about it. You go to bed thinking about it; you wake up thinking about it.”
Since it is so time consuming, Colleen Davis said it’s worth it to see her unexpected dream be successful.
“I’m happy with it,” Colleen Davis said. “I think it serves a good need in the community and that’s really important. Some days (what) really keeps me going is (that it is) a worthwhile endeavor, that people enjoy it. I’m proud of the quality of our products.”
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