We recently connected with Caleb Ingalsbe and have shared our conversation below.

Caleb, appreciate you joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

I began doing coffee pop ups about a year ago (August 2023) with my friend (and now business partner!) Rachel Martindale. Rachel and her husband have bugged me for years to start a cafe with them, as Rachel is a talented baker and has a passion for her heritage – Taiwanese baked goods and meals. I was hesitant at first, but agreed to do a single pop up with some of my home barista equipment.

I quickly realized how much I enjoyed it, and how people in Ann Arbor, MI were clamoring for specialty coffee of a higher grade.

We began doing more pop ups under her new brand: Q Bakehouse and Market, and I started Strider Coffee LLC. I then built a custom coffee cart in my garage! It was absolutely grueling labor, late nights, and so much learning, but it was well worth it to see people show up for her baked goods and my coffee alike.

She then informed me that they were building out a space, and wanted me in it! I like to say I was lovingly harassed (or gentle parented) into finally opening our cafe in February of 2024. So much time and effort was poured into that space, and I’m so honored to be a part of it.

It was only a few weeks being open with my coffee cart equipment before demand outpaced what I could produce. I had to upgrade my entire bar of equipment to high volume, commercial equipment.

Today, we’re open 5 days a week, with a full espresso bar, in house, scratch made, unique syrups (vanilla ube is our current flavor special) and some of the highest quality matcha that can be bought in the states. We take pride in our beverages, and share the space with Q Bakehouse and Market, where they do a full sweet and savory asian baked goods menu, lunch specials on the weekends, and as of last week, we’ve launched Sunday brunch!

It’s been constant hard work, late nights, stress. Leaking pipes, broken machines, spilled drinks, neighborhood drama, have all filled my and Rachel’s head for the past several months. It’s all worth it, though! Being able to bring something so special and needed to the community, in a warm neighborhood space – the natural progression of this cafe has been a lovely thing to be a involved in.

Caleb, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started in coffee in 2016 at a local favorite, Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters. I was 21, needed a job in college, and knew that they did coffee better than my Keurig could. I got an interview through mutual friends, began working there, and within a few months had soaked up every bit of training I could get.

I began competing at the World Latte Art Championships at Coffeefest in late winter of 2017, and have competed in over a dozen world championships since. The farthest I’ve made it in the bracket is top 16, but the friends and “coffeefam” that I’ve met through those competitions is the only reason I could have started Strider Coffee Stop in the first place.

I have a full time day job, but my staff at Strider make it possible to do both. It is a lot of work, and the need in Ann Arbor for high scoring specialty coffees and teas is high!

I believe that the beverages we serve are extremely high quality, from source to cup. We rotate through some of the world’s most talented roasters, and are constantly sampling coffees from various roasters to see what can be added to the rotation. That being said, our coffees are not extremely high in cost, but are in line with current specialty coffee prices. We think that coffee should be approachable, balanced, clear in flavor, and representative of the farmer’s intent behind it.

We currently have Archetype Coffee on our bar, and are switching to a fan favorite, ILSE, in a few weeks. Both roasters, I might add, were introduced to me through competition friends.

I can’t say enough how honored I am to know the people I know, to work closely with so much talent, and to elevate the coffee culture in the city we love.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I love being able to say this: the neighborhood word of mouth! We are situated in a dense residential area of Ann Arbor, with a lot of foot traffic and bike traffic. Probably 70% (at least) of our business is people coming in from the neighborhood! Countless stories of how their neighbor told them about us and that we had to try it out, countless “i just stumbled in here on my daily walk!”. Its really cool.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Church, funny enough! We go back several years, and Rachel’s husband Jonathan and I both climb often together. They’ve been coffee adjacent people for a long time, and with Rachel’s rebrand and cafe buildout, the timing was just perfect for me to take over the beverage side.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: stridercoffeestop
• Other: [email protected]