Hive in Suttons Bay caters to community
By Ross Boissoneau
Sun contributor
Waffles on a stick? A social club without alcohol? All based around a small-town coffee shop?
Welcome to Hive, the Suttons Bay coffee shop that’s long on service, special events and community. And coffee, of course. After all, that’s what enticed Landon McDaid to open the Suttons Bay business at the location previously occupied by Mundos Roasters. It still serves Mundos coffee, with specialties including blueberry lemon latte, flavored espresso tonic and other specialty drinks.
On the food side there are breakfast sandwiches, gluten- and dairy-free muesli (an overnight oatmeal) with imaginative flavors such as strawberry rhubarb, and a selection of soups. Oh, and don’t forget the freshly made waffles served on a popsicle stick, with enticing flavors such as lemon-infused mascarpone whip with strawberry & lemon zest compote.
Running a coffee shop is not what McDaid envisioned at school. Just a few years ago he started out studying nursing, along with automotive and welding, before switching to environmental studies. The variety gave him a taste of various fields, and to this day he maintains an active interest in the environment. And there was one other major benefit: he met the nursing student living across the hall.
McDaid ultimately found his way into hospitality, even working as a lab assistant for a college cooking class while bartending and also working at a French and barbecue restaurant. Meanwhile, he and Nicole, the nursing student from across the hall, had become a couple, and they planned a life together in Phoenix.
But life had other plans. First in the form of the pandemic, which brought a halt to most everything. Then came an invitation from Nicole’s sister and brother-in-law to move north. Nicole had continued her remote studies, and landed a job working at Munson where her sister worked, while McDaid worked with Nicole’s brother-in-law at the Leland Lodge before moving on to Dunebird Winery.
That’s where things stood when Mundos Roasting & Co. decided to leave its shop in Suttons Bay. “I told her (Nicole) that’s what I wanted to do,” says McDaid. Unfortunately, 19 others did as well, and they all interviewed with Mundos owner Dan Clark. He eventually decided to sell his equipment to McDaid, much to his relief.
He went all in, transforming the shop into a coffee shop that was also a community-based business—a hive—where anyone and everyone was welcome. As part of that commitment, Hive supports two major initiatives: mental health and the health of honeybees (hence the name). The latter comes largely from McDaid’s environmental studies and continued commitment to the environment. “I still have environmental passion,” he says.
The former includes working with the afterschool program LIFT (Leelanau Investing for Teens), hosting events and looking for other ways to engage and inspire. “With LIFT, we had a fundraiser for kids that want to go to Guatemala,” says McDaid. “We had an ADHD workshop at Hive, where we would meet, talk about ADHD and do exercises that can help us overcome daily obstacles.”
Then there’s the social club. Every other month during the offseason, McDaid opens Hive after hours. Six to eight patrons can listen to music, dance, socialize and hang out, all without any alcohol. “It can be hard to socialize without a bar,” he says, so he substitutes a coffee bar for one serving wine, beer or cocktails. They also offer another avenue for his twin commitments, as they take a break around 7 p.m. to discuss a topic, complete with trivia and prizes. The theme for the first was honeybee conservation, while the second was mental health.
So yes, Hive is a coffee shop where you can stop in and get your espresso, chai latte, or other flavorful food or beverage. But as a new business, one which only opened its doors nine months ago, it’s already embracing and being embraced by its community.
