We often wear our Sweetwaters t-shirts and hats when we travel.  Many times people will stop us saying, “Hey, we’ve been to Ann Arbor and we know Sweetwaters!” We’ve also seen others wearing Sweetwaters gear in places outside of Ann Arbor.  So we thought it would be fun to post your photos and stories of you wearing your SW t-shirt, hat, drinking from a SW mug, or enjoying our coffee/tea in some exotic place.

We’ll post all entries right here on our blog so you can show the world how well Sweetwaters travels!  Prizes of coffee, tea, or Sweetwaters gear for the picture taken furthest from Ann Arbor and for the funniest picture/story combo.

Email your pictures and stories to info@SweetwatersCafe.com or post them on our Facebook Page.

Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School and The Michigan Department of Education presented this certificate to Sweewaters for sharing professional experience with Taylor, one of our youngest and brightest baristas! Taylor is enrolled in Pioneer’s Occupational Education Program and we are proud to say that she has received straight A’s in the program.

At Sweetwaters we appreciate the importance of career and technical education and are proud to support and mentor our local students.

Did you meet your wife Liz over a glass of Ginger Fizz? Or did Ginger Fizz give you the brain power to ace a rough quiz? If you’ve got a great Ginger Fizz story (true or imaginary) head over to our facebook page and leave a comment. Our 10 favorite stories will get a free Ginger Fizz shirt and a Fizz on us!

1. What is your favorite drink at Sweetwaters?

House Coffee…Black

2. What is your favorite Sweetwaters guilty pleasure?

Almond Croissants

3. Tell us about funny story related to Sweetwaters?

I was opening one day last Fall and the fire alarm was set off by another business in the complex. We didn’t know how to shut it off, neither did the building managers, or the security company….or the builders…or the fire department!

4. Who is your favorite Sweetwaters customer?

Ron and Dan, They both know my name.

5. Who is your favorite cartoon character? and why?

Gaston, because I think he’s hysterical.

6. Create a Sweetwaters drink or treat for your cartoon character, what would it be?

I like to think he drinks a black eye. Midnight Blend with 2 extra shots.

7. What do you do outside of  Sweetwaters?

I’m finishing my masters in double bass performance, grade music theory papers, work on stage lighting, rehair instrument bows, play bass with Dearborn Symphony.

8. What is your perfect playlist?

1)Mahler – Symphony No.2

2) Livin’ on a Prayer

3) Journey

4) Ace of Bass

5) Shostakovich Symphony No.5

6) Avenue Q

7) Anything Victor Wooren

8)Dvosak Symphony No. 9

9) Disney Anthologies

10) Big band era music

AnnArbor.com published a great executive profile on one of Sweetwaters’ founders, Lisa Bee. Read about what makes Sweetwaters fun and what’s the best part of being in the coffee biz.

Executive Profile: Lisa Bee, co-owner, Sweetwaters Cafe

People— they’re the best part of the job and the most challenging part of the job for Lisa Bee, co-owner of Sweetwaters

Café in downtown Ann Arbor.

“I get to meet so many different people,” Bee said. “Not just the customers, but also the staff.” Bee said that  former Sweetwaters employees move away after college, but often come back to let her and her husband, Wei, know how they area doing.

Bee said that while customers are loyal and have made many useful suggestions, they’re also the first to let her know when they don’t like something or want something to be changed, from adding new beverage selections to repairs or remodeling work on the shop.

“I’m really thankful for those people, though,” Bee said. “Our customers set a very high bar for us. They make us who we are.”
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In honor of Barb’s birthday we’d like you to meet one of Sweetwaters’ happiest north side baristas! Happy Birthday Barb!

1. What is your favorite drink at Sweetwaters?

Drink? Anything with that sweet rich liquid gold espresso we call Abianno!

2. What is your favorite Sweetwaters guilty pleasure?

Snickerdoodle cookie – especially dunked into any drink made with Abianno espresso! Also enjoying our customers and staff immensely.

3. Tell us about funny story related to Sweetwaters?

Story? Too many to tell! Other than the framed parchment paper masterpiece, I also have a little problem of getting words mixed up, I started calling the TL’s (Team Leaders) “BLT’s”…obviously hungry and needed a snickerdoodle!!

4. Who is your favorite Sweetwaters customer?

Simply cannot say just one, they all are special in my eyes, truly..but if I have to, there’s Matt, Jim, Ted, Sharon, Mack, Ron, Don, Diane and Gary, Emery….

5. Who is your favorite cartoon character? And why?

Bugs Bunny – none other! Suave, sophisticated…and so wonderfully sarcastic!

6. What Sweetwaters drink or treat would you create and serve to your cartoon character?

A double shot of Abianno espresso with a side of carrot cake – easy!

7. What do you do outside of Sweetwaters?

Garden, write long letters, play with my kitten, Ms. Minnivar Q. Pickl….and repaint my house all sorts of bright and funky colors suitable for a mid-life crisis but not for re-sale!

8. What is your perfect playlist?

Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Dean Martin, a smattering of Opera-and throw in some Tower of Power and AWB to make me young again! Does anyone other than me remember how to do the “Bump”??

Gary and Diane, two wonderfully devoted morning regulars, describe how their piece of “artwork” came about:

“Sweetwaters downtown had an art show called “Variations on a Square.” It was this show that inspired us to produce a piece of art from something we see every morning at the cafe, the wax paper liner from the morning cinnamon rolls delivery. We wanted to play a joke on Barb, a Sweetwaters’ morning manager, who prides herself as quite an art critic.

So, Diane and I took one of the cinnamon roll parchment paper liners, mounted it, placed a title card (just like all the other pieces of artwork) with this caption:

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Another love connection at Sweetwaters blossoms into a new marriage! Teresa and Jose held their wedding in Mallorca, Spain and to remember their first meeting they gave each guest a mini Sweetwaters coffee bag as a wedding favor. Teresa put this label on her favors:

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The feature writer this month is David Stringer, who will be reading poems from his recent book, Inhale / Exhale, a collaboration with his wife Kim, an artist. The book’s title springs from a quotation, “I love you every moment I breathe.” A retired H.S. English teacher, David works as a barista in addition to writing, and divides his time between Saline, MI, and Gainesville, FL.

Open mic follows.

For more information contact Chris Lord at 734-369-2798 or go to the Writer’s Reading website.
Sweetwaters Writers Reading night is held the third Tuesday of every month.

Well maybe it wasn’t the real President Obama, but we were thrilled to see the large puppet in our downtown store. The puppets were part of the Festifools celebration along Main Street on Sunday, April 5th. Sweetwaters is a proud sponsor of this yearly foolhardy event!

View more pictures of Festifools’ puppets and foolishness on photogapher’s Myra Klarman’s Blog .