KALAMAZOO, MI — Four years after opening Walnut & Park Café in the city’s Vine neighborhood, KPEP has opened a second coffeehouse under the same name.
The new café opened Monday, Dec. 6, at 543 E. Ransom St. in retail space at new Harrison Circle Apartments development in the River’s Edge District. It is located next door to Brewery Outré, which plans to be fully operational in January.
Related: Brewery Outré to open taproom on north side of Kalamazoo this fall
Like the original location, named after the corner where it sits in the city’s Vine Neighborhood, the new café is staffed largely by students of the Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program, or KPEP — a community corrections provider based in Kalamazoo.
Café staff are students or graduates of the KPEP hospitality program, a rigorous eight-week vocational training program that equips men and women who have been incarcerated with job skills to live independently, a news release from KPEP states.
“The people of Kalamazoo have embraced Walnut & Park, and we are so grateful for that support,” said Bill DeBoer, president and CEO of KPEP. “We continue to look for ways to better our community, whether that is through building new businesses or building up individual. When we have the opportunity to be part of a developing neighborhood like the River’s Edge District, that’s an added benefit.”
The new café can seat 32 people and includes patio seating with room to grow, the release states.
For the first two weeks, the café will be open from 7-11 a.m. daily, offering several barista favorites. The week of Dec. 20, the café will expand its hours to 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. and being serving lunch items. Similar to the items served at the original location, all Walnut & Park food offerings will be made in-house from scratch.
The café will eventually stay open into the evening to provide food options to patrons at nearby Brewery Outré, expected to open in the coming months.
KPEP’s mission includes operating a variety of residential and non-residential programming designed to empower individuals to take personal responsibility and become independent, contributing members of society.
“It’s exciting to provide more job training opportunities for our residents and more choices for our patrons,” DeBoer said.
KPEP works closely with all aspects of the criminal justice system, including local law enforcement departments, the Michigan Department of Corrections, probation and parole departments, as well as circuit court judges. The organization operates three facilities in Kalamazoo, as well as facilities in Benton Harbor, Muskegon, Battle Creek and Paw Paw.
For more information, visit https://walnutandparkcafe.com/.
Also on MLive:
Local Eats: 9 places to get your coffee fix in Kalamazoo
Ex-husband and wife, believed to be dead for over a month, found in Berrien County home
Kalamazoo sailor’s burial will be held 80 years, to the day, after his death at Pearl Harbor
Ad Choices