About Us

Mitten Mornings Coffee Company

Coffee for Michigan mornings, family adventures, and the moments in between.

Our Story

Mitten Mornings Coffee Company began with a family conversation over morning coffee in early 2026. As we reviewed our finances and thought about the future, we kept returning to one question: How could we model financial responsibility and opportunity for our daughter in a way she could see, touch, and help build?

The answer became a family coffee business - one designed to bring value to our community while giving our daughter a firsthand education in communication, finance, creativity, a sense of community, and entrepreneurship. What started as an idea around the kitchen table became Mitten Mornings Coffee Company in May 2026.

Two Coffee Stories, One Family Brand

Coffee has long been woven into both of our lives. When we first met, Shannon was managing a Panera Bread location in Michigan, where coffee was part of the daily rhythm of serving people and building community. For Tim, a United States Marine, coffee was an easily transported comfort - something he kept close, even during his 2004 OIF II tour in Iraq.

Today, coffee still marks the beginning of nearly every day for our family. It is there before work and school, on the way to weekend sports, at the start of a new adventure, and as a welcome warmup on a cold Michigan afternoon. Coffee is rarely the whole story, but it is often where the story begins.

What Mitten Mornings Means to Us

The name Mitten Mornings represents a small new beginning: a chance to make the most of the day, find an adventure, and celebrate the small wins hidden in everyday experiences. It is the quiet cup before the house wakes up, the travel mug packed for the trail, and the shared pause between one family activity and the next.

Those moments do not need to be elaborate to matter. Sometimes the best memories begin with a simple plan, a little curiosity, and good coffee close at hand.

Rooted in Michigan

Our family story brings together two different paths to the Mitten State. Shannon is a native Michigander with a lifetime of memories connected to Michigan's one-of-a-kind places and traditions. Tim is a transplant who arrived after a journey shaped by military family life, his own military service, and adventures abroad. Together, Michigan is home.

We find inspiration all across the state: hiking the Clinton River Trail, paddling along the Pictured Rocks shoreline, taking in the views at Sleeping Bear Dunes, grabbing a bite in Corktown, and enjoying the festivals that bring Michigan communities together throughout the year.

To us, a perfect Michigan morning is outdoorsy, beautiful, and centered on family. That feeling sits at the heart of every Mitten Mornings experience we hope to share.

Building More Than a Coffee Company

One of our most important goals is to help our daughter learn responsibility, creativity, financial independence, customer service, and emotional intelligence. She already plays a real role in the business by posing for social media content, brainstorming games and family adventures, and serving as the chief promoter of our Traverse Cherry coffee - a favorite inspired first by its wonderful aroma.

More than anything, we want her to learn that an idea worth believing in is worth exploring. We hope she grows up knowing she can invest in herself, think strategically, work hard, and build something meaningful with confidence.

Building Mitten Mornings together is teaching all of us that growth often begins just beyond our comfort zone. We have taken ideas that once felt private and put them into the world, where they can be met with encouragement, questions, and different perspectives. That vulnerability is part of the lesson - and part of the adventure.

Our Vision

Our long-term vision is to grow Mitten Mornings Coffee Company into a Michigan coffee brand that like-minded parents and families naturally bring into the memories they create with the people they love. Whether your morning leads to a school drop-off, a backyard breakfast, a trail, a shoreline, or a road trip across the state, we hope our coffee can be part of the journey.