Small Business Spotlight: Segue Coffee

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

The Segoo latteI heard about Segue Coffee at the East Town Business Partnership annual meeting. Aimee Robertson of North Central University encouraged all of us in the East Town area to pay a visit to Segue Coffee – the owner Trey Sharpe is a community-minded small business owner who makes a Chai, that according to Aimee ‘tastes just like Christmas’. We talked to Trey about the coffee shop, his thoughts on (continuously) giving back to the community and his summer drink menu. Pay a visit to Segue at 811 11th Avenue S and take along a needed item for their community pantry (tissue, dish detergent, paper towels, cereal, etc.) – you’ll get a discount on your coffee purchase and you’ll be helping our neighbors in Loring Park.

Q:  Why is the shop called Segue Coffee?  

A:  Here’s the history - Segue Coffee was founded in 2002 by Jane Lundquist as a nonprofit with a mission to help troubled youth in her community. Segue, meaning a smooth transition, was a fitting name for a place that helps these kids become more responsible young adults. Many of those kids still reach out to her 20 years later as adults!

Q:  Are you the current owner?  

A:  Yes, I bought Segue in 2019 after working for Jane for about 4 years. I took a business course through Neighborhood Development Center, which was paid for by Jane personally, and NDC helped me get a loan to buy the shop.

Q:  How long have you been in this location? 

A:  Segue has been in its current location at 811 11th Avenue S since 2015. It has had a presence downtown since about 2008, I believe.

Q:  The business Mission Statement is "Creating a Culture of Inclusivity within our Community." Why is this important to you?   

A:  There was always a community feel here at Segue and I wanted to keep that when I bought the business. The COVID pandemic took away almost all of that community and really brought me down, along with a lot of other people. Segue Pantry, our little food shelf, was an idea to bring that sense of community back. I think a lot of people want to help their community by doing good, but just need some direction and the pantry has helped give that direction. It’s important to me to support this community - I’ve actually been careful not to add too many projects so I don’t burn myself out. There’s more we’ve had the chance to do, but just don’t have the capacity right now.

Q:  How are you going about cultivating this culture? How may downtown residents help your efforts? 

A:  The biggest way we’ve gone about this is partnering with Project for Pride in Living on Segue Pantry. We have moved away from tip culture so now if you want to give a little extra, it goes directly to support the pantry. Customers can also bring in donations and we will give you discounts on drinks or bonus rewards if you are signed up for that program. When someone buys a drink, they are supporting this effort because as long as Segue Coffee is in business, so is Segue Pantry. Here’s a list of our current community needs.

Segue Pantry

There’s also a Minneapolis running group called November Project and they have been coming to the shop every Wednesday morning for the last year and a half. Supporting communities where they run is important to them so they have been bringing in donations after runs since the pantry opened!

On top of that is another group, Community Driven, that rescues food from grocery stores and drops some off to us weekly.

There are many people making Segue Pantry work!

Q:  Please tell us about your Free Spring Meal.  

A:  The Free Spring Meal was going to be just like the Free Holiday Meal we did last November. We closed down the coffee bar for a day and served a hot meal, drinks and dessert to anybody who wanted to stop in. East Village Grill, our Somali neighbors, donated most of the food, volunteers came in to help serve food, and we all just sat around a big table and connected. We are going to shoot for a Free Summer Meal instead and utilize our courtyard for some fun events. So, keep an eye out for information on that!

Q:  Please keep us posted on the Free Meal celebration. What’s the most popular coffee drink on your menu? 

A:  The most popular drink is The Segoo, an upside-down latte with vanilla and caramel drizzle. It got its name because most people pronounce Segue wrong. For the more traditional coffee drinkers, we make a very good Cortado. We are partnered with True Stone Coffee Roasters and their MPLS espresso blend is amazing.

Q:  Do you have a summer drink menu? Any summer drinks?

A:  Yep! We have a special menu for each season. The Summer Menu isn’t fully planned yet, but it will include an Iced Coconut Matcha and we will keep our Orange Creamsicle Cold Brew from our current Spring Menu.

Q:  How may we follow your news?

A:  We mainly use Instagram, @seguecoffee, but also post updates on our website. Also, if you pay attention to East Town Business Partnership, they do a great job of promoting local businesses in our area. They actually said some very nice things about Segue at their last annual meeting, which led to some new customers and you reaching out!