Madcap Coffee acquires Blue Boat Coffee in Leland
Grand Rapids-based Madcap Coffee Company has acquired Leland-based Blue Boat Coffee and will open its fourth café location in Michigan and its first in Leelanau County.
Prior to Madcap’s acquisition, Blue Boat—the Fishtown-adjacent café and coffee destination known both for its blue to-go cups and its popularity with locals and vacationers in Leland—had been a highly collaborative and successful wholesale partner of Madcap Coffee since opening its doors in 2014.
“As both a fan and loyal wholesale partner to Madcap Coffee, when I made the decision to sell, they were the logical choice to buy Blue Boat,” said Susan Kurnick, who owned Blue Boat since April 2019. “Madcap’s reputation for premium coffee and excellent hospitality helped us build Blue Boat into what it is today. I’m so pleased to pass this torch and welcome the brand into Leland and our small business community.”
Madcap took ownership of Blue Boat Coffee and its N Main Street café space in August 2021. Madcap will reopen the café in March 2022. The acquisition is part of Madcap Coffee’s ongoing growth strategy with a focus on building brand awareness through owned retail locations, intimate café footprints, and broader wholesale distribution in Northern Michigan and the Leelanau Peninsula.
“We are thrilled to officially welcome Blue Boat Coffee and its staff into the Madcap Coffee family,” said Madcap founder and co-CEO Trevor Corlett. “Blue Boat’s dedication to community and specialty coffee these past 8 years helped introduce Madcap to thousands of new consumers and elevated our reputation in the process. We look forward to sharing our coffee and values with this community, while building meaningful, long-term relationships with the residents of Leland and all of Leelanau County.”
This week Madcap also announced its initial membership in 1% for the Planet and the company’s intent to donate 1% of annual sales to support nonprofit organizations focused on the environment, climate change, and water conservation.
To celebrate its 1% membership and to highlight its retail expansion into Leelanau County, Madcap is partnering with FLOW to launch its seasonal Lake Effect winter coffee blend and a supporting merchandise collection. 10% of café and online sales from Madcap’s Lake Effect coffee and collection will directly benefit FLOW, whose mission is protecting and preserving waters in the Great Lakes Basin through public trust principles like education, policy, and solutions to urgent energy, water, and climate issues.“As a specialty coffee company operating with both local and national reach, issues like the environment, climate change, and water quality are front of mind at Madcap,” said Corlett.
