01/10/2026
UPDATE 1/10: it’s over halfway to the goal!!! Middletown community, you rock!!!
Did you see this exciting update from Grace & Co Coffee in The Middletown News today? They getting are so close to meeting the goal so they can open—and you can help make it happen with a little support THIS WEEK at their Kickstarter campaign before it ends on Jan. 13th!
From the article:
“New Coffee Shop Owner aims for Spring Opening with Crowdfunding Goal”
A daily brick-and-mortar coffee shop is high on the Middletown community’s wish list, according to Middletown Main Street’s officers who collected community survey data in 2024. And the organization’s officers are excited to share that Middletown is very close to a new shop opening at 108 S. 5th St.
Sarah Russell, 26, the owner of Grace & Co. Coffee, LLC, has loved coffee and good company since her church opened a coffee shop over a decade ago. When she was learning how to make drinks, she also found her calling. “I just love serving people. Serving people is my love language!”
After Russell launched her mobile coffee shop vision in 2024 to take her drinks on the road at community events and hot spots, she also learned about the sudden opportunity to create a brick-and-mortar coffee shop in Middletown, Indiana. She immediately fell in love with the historic space on 5th Street and her growing vision of a cozy, adorable small town coffee shop in her local community.
This spring and summer, Russell quickly learned that running a mobile coffee shop and opening a brick-and-mortar shop at the same time during an economic downturn is a true challenge. She encountered increased costs that have created a critical shortfall impacting her essential equipment budget at a time when small business loans come with high interest rates.
“It was frustrating,” Russell admits. But she was not ready to admit defeat.
Russell sought an alternative funding source now trendingamong GenZ entrepreneurs: online crowdfunding on Kickstarter.com.
“I started this Kickstarter campaign because I was encouraged to do so by some successful business owners who don’t want to see me take on tons of debt right at the start,” explains Russell. “If we can meet the goal on this campaign, I can open the doors of my shop with the basic equipment, and do it much sooner, with the shop set up to really succeed.”
Grace & Co. Coffee’s Kickstarter campaign is currently 35% funded with over $4,000 in pledges from supporters. Some levels of support offer rewards to contributors, such as free drinks. However, the Kickstarter platform’s policy on fund collection is “all-or-nothing”: the funds pledged by supporters will only be charged to their credit cards if Russell’s goal is met by the campaign’s ending date of January 13, 2026.
“I am aware that using Kickstarter, we’ll either get fully funded or we’ll get nothing. We are hoping our loving and supportive community can help us reach the goal so we can start this storefront off a little smoother,” says Russell. “We are ready to serve Middletown and become a welcoming space for everyone.”
To contribute to the coffee shop campaign, visit Kickstarter.com and enter “Grace and Co Coffee Middletown” using its search feature, or use the QR code (pictured) from a mobile device camera or QR reader, or visit:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/graceandcocoffee/grace-and-co-coffee-a-new-home-in-middletown
