Ypsilanti’s Cow Building Set to Become Good Soil Cafe By Late 2025
Ypsilanti’s landmark giant cow building on Ecorse Road will soon transform into a community cafe that will create working opportunities for formerly incarcerated men and women. Look for the Good Soil Cafe to open its doors at the location in late 2025.
Stewart Beal of Beal Properties acquired the formerly vacant building. He’s partnered with Melvin Parson, founder and director of We The People Opportunity Farm, to turn the cafe from a concept into a reality.
The idea for a cafe branching out from the organization originated from Parson’s patronage of cafes. Over the last several years, the organization hasn’t had a physical office space, leading Parson to use local coffee shops to host business meetings.
In addition to nurturing the community by creating access to healthy food, the cafe strives to unite people and break the cycle of incarceration.
“We’re not hiring formerly incarcerated men and women to sell coffee. We’re selling coffee to hire formerly incarcerated men and women,” Parson said in an interview with The Eastern Echo.
In addition to serving as a retail business, The Good Soil Cafe will provide opportunities for community engagement through social funding events and an internship program. The Michigan Justice Fund is supporting this initiative by awarding the cafe a $100,000 planning grant.
“We’re excited to launch the Good Soil Café and to create a space and environment where folks feel valued and loved and supported and happy,” Parson added.
Learn more about the mission of We The People Opportunity Farm by visiting the organization’s website.
