The Toledo City Paper depends on readers like you! Become a friend today. See membership options
A Maumee-based coffee shop is reaching out to a national audience. With its new online store, Georgette’s Grounds and Gifts has expanded its business beyond its downtown Maumee storefront and sales in local stores.
Georgette’s is a part of Sunshine Communities, a nonprofit founded in 1950 as Sunshine Children’s Home by Georgette and Roy Engler supporting individuals with developmental disabilities. Not only does Georgette’s provide locals with a way to support the Sunshine Communities mission, it also employs those served by the nonprofit.
“Georgette’s was opened in 2005 to continue Georgette and Roy’s desire to have opportunities created for individuals with developmental disabilities. So, they employ individuals here alongside a job coach to create inclusion and build on their life skills,” Sunshine Communities business development representative Kasey Moon said.
Growing out of the tradition of Georgette Engler always brewing a pot of coffee for visitors to the Sunshine Children’s Home, the cafe has become a Maumee staple.
“We were one of the first coffee shops in the area that roasted their own beans and did everything in house,” Moon said. “There wasn’t anything like us before where we employ individuals and you can see the mission in action.”
Growing into a wholesale business in 2023, the company partnered with local markets like Monnettes and Sofo’s to connect with more coffee lovers in the area.
“[The local markets] are who got us started,” Moon said. “They welcomed us and helped us get that started. So, we can’t be where we are without them.”
The online store sells 12 oz and 2.5 oz packages of coffee blends ranging from their classic Georgette’s Sunrise to more unusual flavors like the chocolate-peanut butter Buckeye Blend or the island-inspired Jamaican Me Crazy. Diehard fans are already getting these varieties delivered to their doorstep.
“The first day that it launched, we hadn’t marketed it at all. We sent out a little blurb to some of our followers: ‘hey, coming soon,’ to get them excited and we woke up the next morning and had our first order,” Moon said.
In adding an online store, Georgette’s can now serve out-of-state donors and reach a new, national audience. Currently, it’s just coffee for sale online, but the company hopes to sell Georgette’s merchandise and curated gift boxes there, as well.
“We would have people reach out to us on a regular basis asking if we could ship the coffee or if we had it anywhere near them,” Moon said, “to make it more attainable for people outside of our communities to grow that mission.”
Regardless of what blend you choose and how you shop, the proceeds go to Sunshine Communities, turning an everyday habit into something bigger.
“Most people who like coffee drink coffee every single day. So, it’s just a tangible idea of something simple that we are already doing, that can now have purpose behind it, too,” Moon said.
Georgette’s new online coffee shop is now open and can be found at their website, georgettescoffee.org.
