He’s started planning his dream coffee shop 9 years ago. Now, it’s about to open downtown.
When Byron McSwain was pursuing his business management degree at Friends University in the mid 2010s, he wrote a business plan for a hypothetical coffee shop.
As it turns out, it was a pretty prophetic class assignment.
McSwain, who now has a full-time job as an account manager at Cargill, is about to open a coffee shop — and it will be in downtown Wichita, right across the street from his current employer.
He’s taken over the former Mud Haus concrete showroom space at 922 E. Douglas and plans to open Greater Grounds Coffee & Co. there this spring. McSwain estimates he’ll have the business open by mid- to late April, though opening day could slide into May.
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McSwain said he plans to create a “destination coffee shop” that will be a bit different from its competitors. Greater Grounds will serve a full menu of coffee and espresso drinks plus tea and smoothies. It’ll also offer food — breakfast and pastry items in the morning, sandwiches and panini over the lunch hour, and charcuterie in the evenings. He’ll also serve coffee cocktails.
He’s purchased a coffee roaster and plans to roast beans in the shop, not only for his own use but also to sell by the bag to his customers. McSwain also says he’ll put on coffee education classes and offer “cuppings” and tastings, where customers can try coffees produced in various regions and learn what makes them different.
He’s already purchased a grand piano, which sits in the back of the shop waiting to be played by acoustic acts once the shop opens. A music lover, McSwain said he hopes to give local high school and college musicians a place where they can showcase their music.
The 2,500 square-foot space, which is several doors down from Larkspur Bistro and right across the street from Ribbit Computers, has finished concrete floors, exposed brick walls, raised platforms in the front windows and a large, modern fireplace in the back.
McSwain plans to fill it with a coffee bar featuring floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, pastry display cabinets, a coffee bar and lots of seating. He’s hired a designer to create a dramatic look, which combines modern touches with an antique feel.
Alex Ibarra of Weigand Commercial Real Estate handled the deal for McSwain.
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A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, McSwain said he’s always loved coffee, and the dream of opening a coffee shop has always been brewing in him.
“My mom, my family, they were big coffee drinkers,” he said. “To me, it’s been a connection with the smell of coffee, the taste of coffee. My wife loves coffee, and I love everything about it.”
His business plan has changed significantly since the one he authored in college, McSwain said, but he’s been seriously working on it since before the COVID-19 pandemic. He worked with the Kansas Small Business Development Center at Wichita State University and with the SCORE program, where he secured a business mentor.
“The concept that I was going with changed, so I I had to dial in and do some good market research, see what my fellow coffee shops were doing,” McSwain said. “And that kind of stuff sparked a dream, and I kept adding. And I said, ‘Okay: Music. Coffee Cocktails. What’s different? What are other people doing and not doing?’”
McSwain said he also wants Greater Grounds to be active in the community. He’s passionate about the topic of mental health and wants his business to actively address that issue.
“I want to be a safe place for people to come, and if they want to talk mental health, we can connect them with groups and people and resources that are available,” he said.
Greater Grounds will be open a bit later than some local shops, McSwain said. He’s planning to be open from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. He’ll have two parking spots in the back of the shop designated for mobile order pickups, and he’ll also be able to use the “front porch” installed in front of neighboring business Standard Issue as part of last year’s Front Porch Project for outdoor seating on Douglas.
I’ll keep you posted as McSwain gets closer to opening day.
This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 11:37 AM.
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