Suttons Bay's newest spot for craft espresso and small bites, Hive Coffee Co., hosted its softopening just last month and have been busy meeting customers and other business owners in the area ever since. Now situated where Mundos Coffee used to be, Hive owners and Lake Leelanau residents, Landon and Nicole McDaid, couldn’t be more excited and grateful to start their business journey in a supportive community like Suttons Bay.
“It is a real dream of ours, and we really appreciate and love the Suttons Bay community,” Landon said. “Everyone has been so incredibly loving…I think it’s amazing to be open now and kind of fulfilling this dream. We’re really happy that we get to do this in northern Michigan so close to family and friends and nature.”
That dream for Hive was created from a desire to do good. Landon explained how his and Nicole’s goal is to ensure every guest feels welcome and at home in their space, with their mission being to create a way to give back locally and globally. Not only do they have a goal to focus on local mental health organizations and global honey bee conservation, but their vision is to be harmonious with their mission no matter where life takes Hive.
“Our vision is to continuously grow as not just a business, but as a community, and to offer this space as kind of a communal area,” he said. “We want whoever walks through this place to feel like they are part of the Suttons Bay community even if they’re from out of state or town — it’s a place to call home.”
Landon said family and friends helped with renovating the space to make it lighter and brighter before soft opening in November. Keeping in mind their goal to partner with organizations like LIFT Teen Center and the Leelanau Wellness Collective to support local mental health, he explained how he wanted a sort of Scandinavian feel to the space, especially during a time when people are dealing with the darker winter days and seasonal depression.
Both Nicole and Landon found themselves relocating to Leelanau County after having to reorganize their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landon graduated from Ferris State University in December of 2019, right before the pandemic hit, while Nicole graduated with her nursing degree in the spring of 2020. The couple had to move in with Landon’s parents for a bit after he lost his apartment and two of his part-time jobs amid the pandemic and while in college, and then they made the move up north, scratching plans to move to Arizona.
As it worked out, Nicole went to be a full-time nurse at Munson Medical Center, where her sister also happened to work. Nicole’s brother-in-law, Tony West, was able to get Landon a job at The Leland Lodge, where he served as the events chef for about two years.
Getting ready to move once again, Landon said they decided to find a place to call home in Leelanau when he got the job as tasting room manager earlier this year at Dune Bird Winery, working alongside good friends Nicole and Bo White, who were also very supportive of Landon’s dream to open his own business.
Through the month of October, Landon worked at Dune Bird while working out an agreement with Mundos owners Dan and Melissa to transition into their new space in downtown Suttons Bay. Landon and Nicole officially took over the Hive on November 1, and from there, made the space into their own.
“Our other mission is to support globally by bringing awareness and fundraising for honey bee conservation in any way we can, but tying into that, I went to Ferris originally for environmental biology,” he said. “It’s still a passion of mine, but not fully. So I changed my major halfway through to college of business, focusing on hospitality, food and beverage.” The seasonal menu features three signature lattes and two teas, all with their own unique twists sure to warm up anyone this winter. From a welcome home latte created with house made cardamom, ginger and orange infused syrup, to a winter matcha with house made peppermint infused syrup, the options go great with any of the small bites also available. You can take your pick of a panini, whether that be the “cheezers” which includes provolone, mozzarella, American and pesto served on 9 Bean Rows sea salt fennel, or the “muffalotalove,” which is made of spicy giardiniera spread, ham, salami, and provolone served warm on 9 Bean Rows ciabatta. In addition to the paninis, they will serve two dietary friendly options, which this month includes a sweet potato and butternut squash soup and “the yogi,” which is old fashioned oats, chia seeds, coconut and oat milk topped with cinnamon blueberry compote and coconut flakes.
Of course, there’s also Hive’s signature waffles on a stick. They come in plain and cinnamon sugar, but this season, they have two other special waffles being served as well: A matcha maple waffle with matcha infused mascarpone and a blueberry cinnamon waffle infused with whip cream mascarpone.
“Next, we’re going to nail down a consistency and work on our partnerships with the local mental health initiatives,” Landon said. “I’d love to nail down an event and to see what we can come up with to kind of utilize this space, but other than that, we’re just kind of nailing down the consistency allowing people to come in and enjoy the nice bright warm space we’ve created.”
