CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ready Set is finally ready to go!
Cleveland’s Ready Set Coffee Roasters opened in its new home at 7306 Detroit Ave. on Monday, Oct. 11. The roastery and coffee bar has been in the works for more than a year, as sibling-owners Chris and Molly Allen and business partner Jeff Dangremond worked on transforming the space -- a former performing arts school -- into their new home.
In the backroom, they’ve got a San Franciscan coffee-roasting machine busy churning out bags of beans for cafe use and wholesale. Shelves hold some of Ready Set’s most popular blends, including its signature “Deep Track” garage blend. The name references Ready Set’s beginnings in Chris’ garage.
Ready Set also connects to Chris’ background in music, with a close-up photo of a vinyl record on the product. (He also fronts the rock bands Rosavelt and Falling Stars, and performs in the holiday rock supergroup Ohio City Singers.)
“There’s definitely music running through the veins of this place,” Chris said about Ready Set.
Chris said that the Ready Set team aimed to make a cafe that’s accessible for any kind of coffee drinker.
“We want coffee geeks and just your average coffee lover here. We have a lot of knowledge about coffee, but we’re not snobs about it. If you want to put cream in it, that’s cool. But at the same time, we’ll show people different techniques.”
That’s reflected in the Ready Set cafe menu, which focuses on batch brews of the roastery’s beans, espresso, pour overs and a few seasonal specialty drinks. For the fall, there’s a salted maple latte, black cat mocha, and two chocolatey drinks called “Sunburst” and “Cloudburst.” Cold-brew and nitro cold-brew drinks are also on tap, and locally made baked goods, including vegan options, are available behind a glass case.
“We’re doing a lot of fun specialty drinks that showcase the roastery side,” Chris said. “The other part of that is that we’ve got coffees from all over the world there, so we can bring in and try different things as pour-overs -- feature coffees of the day from Bali or Sumatra, Colombia, Mexico. It’s fun that we’re able to bring them in and try different things.”
Eventually, Chris said, the Ready Set team hopes to offer coffee brewing classes and coffee tastings. He also plans on utilizing the space for events, including an upcoming book signing and a holiday pop-up shop featuring local makers.
Ready Set has gained traction since its beginnings in Chris’ garage a couple of years ago, when it first focused on local delivery and partnerships with local grocery stories. Before opening the cafe, Chris and his partners developed partnerships and collaborations with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Go Buddha, Propaganda Coffee, Terrestrial Brewing Company and Immigrant Son Brewery. Recently, the company won second place at this year’s Cleveland Chain Reaction competition, earning $20,000.
The owners of Ready Set plan to use those funds to expand its team and its reach.
“I’m not saying we’re going to grow into more locations, but basically our pitch was to invest in people and get more people to help us make this a bigger thing,” Chris said. “We want to invest in the people, and invest in our own growing as a national brand.”
You can find more information about Ready Set at readysetcoffee.com.
Get a jumpstart on the weekend and sign up for cleveland.com’s weekly “In the CLE” email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to do in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings - an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Just click here to subscribe. All cleveland.com newsletters are free.
Ad Choices