New York City's Roasting Plant to Open First Shop Outside NYC in Downtown Detroit

NEW YORK, May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Roasting Plant, a New York-based company that provides a personalized experience for coffee lovers with its unique roasting technology, today announced it will expand its footprint and open its first coffee shop outside of New York City in the heart of downtown Detroit.

The company will bring its just-roasted, brewed-by-the-cup coffee to the growing number of people working in downtown Detroit's burgeoning hub of technology and creative companies.  The store will open for business this fall in the First National Building, located at 660 Woodward, and owned by Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance, and integration of Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies, investments and real estate.

Roasting Plant's first floor retail location, situated on the foot of Campus Martius Park, will feature onsite roasting and both indoor and outdoor seating.

"We are very excited to introduce the Roasting Plant experience to other parts of the country, so we jumped at the chance to open our first non-New York shop in the heart of resurging downtown Detroit," said Elizabeth Rose of Roasting Plant, a former Detroiter who used to run the halls of the First National Building as a child.

"I would occasionally come to work with my father when he had an office in the First National, so when the opportunity to return to Detroit and be located in that building presented itself, I could not pass it up," said Rose. "I love what is happening in Detroit -- I can't imagine not being a part of it."

The lease deal was brokered by Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC, Rock Ventures' full service property management firm.

"Roasting Plant's choice to come to downtown Detroit speaks to the national reputation we're developing as a place to see and be seen," said Matt Cullen, President and CEO of Rock Ventures.  "Detroit offers a growing critical mass of young people who are looking for more retail, dining and entertainment options, as well as a great cup of coffee.  We're excited that this unique coffee shop sees the opportunity here and is seizing it."

Roasting Plant's Detroit shop will feature a warm, modern, and bright space that highlights the patented Roasting Plant Javabot™ system. At Roasting Plant, customers choose from the 11 daily choices of coffee beans, and then watch the Javabot system create their perfect drink on demand.

The Roasting Plant experience was built by founder Mike Caswell, whose love of coffee and appreciation of the coffee bar experience was developed when he worked as a part-time barista in his college days, and subsequently as the Director of Profit Improvement at Starbucks in Seattle. Roasting Plant is the culmination of his engineering, systems, and coffee industry expertise.

For more information about Roasting Plant, and its breakthrough Javabot technology, please visit its new website, featuring available coffees, processes, news, a monthly coffee subscription service, weekly blog, and much more, at www.roastingplant.com.

About Roasting Plant
Roasting Plant sources the world's finest beans to roast onsite in each store location providing an unparalleled level of freshness and choice in every cup. Roasting Plant provides the highest quality that, until now, could only be attained by the finest artisans through a painstaking and time consuming process. The company's Javabot technology dynamically integrates onsite, micro-batch roasting with on-demand grinding and brewing, and re-produces artisan-roasted results. Roasting Plant delivers the freshest, smoothest coffee on the planet, right before your eyes -- The Ultimate Coffee Experience.

About Rock Ventures LLC
Rock Ventures LLC is an umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance, and integration of Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies, investments and real estate.

About Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC
Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC is a full service property management firm specializing in purchasing, leasing, financing, developing and managing of commercial space. The company, a partnership between Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert and veteran real estate developer Jim Ketai, is based in downtown Detroit. For more information, visit http://www.bedrockmgt.com.

SOURCE Rock Ventures LLC

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