By Christian Welker '24
A new business has opened in Houghton. Cōppa Cō (short for Cōppa Collaborative) is a unique coffee shop that sits down the street from the campus’ main entrance. Owned by J.L. Miller, Heidi Miller, Aaron Harrison (‘01), and Marzella Harrison, the shop offers a variety of coffees and teas to customers, along with a modern interior, a fire pit outside with plenty of benches to sit down on, and lawn games such as corhole, that customers can play.
Cōppa Cō also has an art gallery, featuring and selling works from local artists and Houghton art students. Customers can go into the store, purchase a drink, and look at artistic creations from talented people within the community, providing both a unique experience for the customers and a good opportunity for artists to show their work to more people. Artist Julia Wilmot, who sells assorted ceramics such as mugs and bowls, told us, “Selling my work at Cōppa Cō has brought more interest and engagement to my art on campus and on my Instagram account. I have had more people ask me for specific commissions and buy from me personally. I think it has been a very advantageous experience and has opened my eyes to the business world.” Cōppa Cō currently has work from 19 local artists displayed in their store, along with an Etsy shop that sells the items they make in-house. All this helps fulfill coowner Prof. Harrison’s dream of “the shop [being] a showcase of the talents of our community through the art, handmade gifts, and local baked goods we offer.”
Furthermore, Cōppa Cō hosts events that highlight specific works from the community, including a book signing from Professor Eli Knapp for his most recent book Dead Serious, and an art exhibition featuring Melissa Fink’s collection “Letting the Light In.” The owners hope to have more events like this in the future and “have also been discussing opening up classes for children and adults that could teach specialty crafts like pottery or jewelry making,” after pandemic regulations are lifted.
Alongside their focus on local artists, Cōppa Cō is working on making delicious and sustainable drinks for customers. All their coffee is fair trade and most materials used are eco-friendly, from the salvaged wood
used in building to the compostable cups that they serve drinks in. This adds to the atmosphere of the shop and brings their vision of “a handcrafted and sustainable space where art and coffee unite” to life.
This unification of art, coffee, and sustainability makes Cōppa Cō a truly unique experience for Houghton. As a regular customer, Grace Deitrick (‘23) told us, “The town of Houghton needed a coffee shop [and] they’ve filled that space really well.” Deitrick also conveyed that Cōppa Cō has made her appreciate “coffee as a craft more, because [she] sees it in the context of local art.” Cōppa Cō is open 7:30am-3:00pm Tuesday through Saturday, so stop in and appreciate the gallery, buy some cool art, and try a fun drink: Grace suggests Lavender Chai Tea and Professor Harrison, “a large dark roast coffee with a fresh donut!”★
