Motor City Match Awards $50,000 Grants to Two Local Business Owners

Owner of Morningside Cafe, Jeffrey D. Lewis II. Image courtesy of the City of Detroit

Co-owners of Next Chapter Books, Jay and Sarah Williams. Image courtesy of Next Chapter Books

Two new businesses in our community - Morningside Café and Next Chapter Books – have just been awarded $50,000 grants under the city-sponsored Motor City Match program. Motor City Match was established in 2015 to revitalize our commercial corridors and help fledgling businesses owned by minorities and women. The money couldn’t have come at a better time.

Jeffrey D. Lewis II, owner of Morningside Café, was within days of opening his coffee shop on E. Warren in January of 2022, when a fire broke out in Stilleto Shoetique, the shop next door. The fire caused significant smoke damage, forcing Jeff to do a complete rebuild. The fire, and the hassles he faced from his insurance company, would have broken the spirit of most aspiring entrepreneurs – but not Jeff. He started all over and has built back better than ever.

Because he’d won a Motor City Match grant a few years ago, Jeff was “definitely surprised” when he won again. We have to assume that the funders recognized and wanted to reward a business owner who refused to give up.

Jeff says he’ll use the $50,000 to build up his inventory and purchase a few more pieces of equipment. Currently he’s started interviewing potential employees and plans to hire 3-5. He’s also getting the hardware installed for payment transactions. Jeff says he’s on track to do a “soft” opening around the end of this month.

One wall in Morningside Cafe is devoted to a mural, which should be completed within a few days. Jeff is keeping the subject of the mural under wraps for now, but hints that it “incorporates elements of the community” and “gives people a feeling for what we’re about.”

Sarah Williams, co-owner of Next Chapter Books with her husband Jay, is equally delighted to receive the Motor City Match award. “We’re really encouraged to have so many people believe in this business,” she says.

The grant will allow her and Jay to put in a new floor, add signage to the building, build their inventory of books, and get book cases. “Until now we’ve been working with a small business loan and lots of sweat equity,” she says. “This grant is a game changer.”

For a few months, Next Chapter Books was located in the storefront next to the Alger Theater. At the end of April, they moved from that location to their new building at the corner of Kensington and E. Warren. Old-timers remember it as the Sherwin Williams paint store.

Sarah and Jay are planning a “soft” opening shortly after Labor Day. In the meantime, in addition to renovating the new building, they’ve continued the Next Chapter monthly book club started in February. The selection for September 5 is Sea of Tranquility, a science fiction book by Emily St. John Mandel. Sarah says new members are welcome.