Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah And Chris Welch.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My husband Chris and I met at the University of Michigan. After college, we entered the corporate world as an Environmental Scientist (Sarah) and Chemical Engineer (Chris). We quickly learned we wanted something more out of our careers. We were missing those opportunities to be truly challenged and get creative. Chris and I were avid home coffee brewers and enjoyed the formulaic approach and experimenting with unexpected ingredients. During the early days of COVID-19, we were spending more time at home and found ourselves daydreaming about what it would be like to open our own coffee shop. We started crunching numbers to see if that was something we could make a reality. We realized that making our dream a reality was a possibility so we put our heads down and got to work – five years later, Saturn Coffee opened its doors (August 2025).
My parent’s are small business owners and I think seeing them work so hard doing what they love made it more of an approachable idea to me. I worked in hospitality throughout college and Chris began worked specialty coffee shop for about 1.5 years before we opened Saturn.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Obstacles:
– Securing a loan as young first time business owners.
– Everyone told us that construction takes twice as long and will be twice as expensive, and they were right.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Saturn Coffee?
Saturn Coffee is a bright and cozy cafe nestled in a historic Albert Khan apartment building in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood. Our menu features high quality coffee roasted by Hyperion Coffee in Ypsilanti, MI. We’re known for our unique drink combinations, like Espresso Coca Cola or Yuzu Americano, and breakfast sandwiches made on our housemade biscuits. We aim to be the highlight of our customer’s day, where they can enter a playful and inspiring cafe and are always met with a friendly face.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Being approachable and community focused. Everyone deserves to drink great coffee and everyone deserves to feel welcome. We often host workshops and pop ups to bring different crowds to the cafe. It’s heartwarming to see strangers bonding over a craft workshop or gushing about a book they just read.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://saturn-coffee.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saturncoffeedetroit/?hl=en
