Cultivate Coffee & Tap House in Ypsilanti announced that the business is closing indefinitely beginning Saturday, Feb. 5.
The owners of Cultivate, a Depot Town favorite coffee shop and bar, announced this decision on Monday, Jan. 31, citing issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions.
“This place isn't the same as it used to be,” the owners said in a statement. “We admit that. And we know we can't change that. Although we don't think that is true forever and will do all we can to be back, it is very accurate at this moment in one critical and unfixable way, the viability of the physical gatherings that our space and garden allow.”
Cultivate has an indoor space and outdoor beer garden where the owners set up a tent during the winter months to accommodate more guests. The owners said in their statement that the city of Ypsilanti has not responded to their requests to install a tent this year.
“However, despite repeated efforts for City approval, we are still not approved to install it this winter,” the owners said in a statement. “Our last list of questions to the City of Ypsilanti building inspector on how to successfully move forward, which we raised back in Mid-December, are still unanswered.”
In a Facebook post following the announcement, Cultivate’s owners said that the city is not an “enemy” but “has made a brutal time in an already challenging industry unnecessarily harder in this case.”
“If you feel led to speak up, we would be grateful, but also remember that it is likely a neighbor of yours on the other line. Be kind!” the owners said in the post.
The statment also urged Ypsilanti residents to support local businesses such as Hyperion coffee shop, 734 Brewing, and Maiz, rather than “faceless corporations.”
This week, some of Cultivate’s items will be sold at a discount to get rid of perishable foods. The owners are also offering a coffee subscription service, and the revenue from this month’s subscriptions will go toward their staff.
