Zuma Coffee Shop

If you are looking for a specialty coffees and delicious food, visit Birmingham’s only 24 hour café!

Lisa and Richard Spicko purchased the Java Hutt Café in mid-November 2008 and have just recently renamed the store Zuma Coffee Shop.  The café is located at 207 S. Old Woodward Avenue, between Forte and the Birmingham Uptown 8 Theater.

The two reasons for re-branding the shop are intertwined.  Primarily they wanted to establish their own identity and re-launch with a name that is meaningful to them and the journey that brought them to owning a business in Birmingham.  The word, “zuma” is highly appropriate as it means “new beginning or journey” in a Mayan dialect.  Lisa and Rich Spicko have 2 adopted sons from Guatemala.

A life-long Neil Young fan, Rich will also point out that Zuma is the name of his favorite Neil Young album!

Second, the other force behind re-branding is to eliminate confusion in the marketplace from having two coffee shops with the same name within relatively close geographic proximity.  The previous owners of theshop own the original Java Hutt Café in Ferndale.

Lisa and Rich strive to provide fresh, delicious and affordable food choices.  Most of all, they remain committed to serving the best coffee in Birmingham!
They are pleased that the business is growing, despite the economic struggles in the area.  Initiatives that promote patronizing main street businesses, such as the Pierce PTSA “Pierce Shops Local” fundraiser and the “3/50 Project” help raise awareness that dollars spent locally (instead of at chain establishments) are re-invested in local communities.

In September they were selected as the WCSX Workforce Business Winner (from a pool of 600+ applicants) and awarded $20,000 in advertising with the station.

Zuma Coffee Shop: (248) 593-1027

Jennifer is a mom of 2 and founder of The Bilingual Fun Company.  She is a former high school Spanish teacher turned business owner.  When she is not busy teaching classes, producing educational DVDs and running her kids to activities, she loves to get out around Metro Detroit and enjoy the sights, sound, and events that our city has to offer.

Jungle Java

I could just reiterate what the website for http://www.junglejavaplay.com Jungle Java claims.  Because really, it’s all true.  It’s clean, safe, fun.  I’m lucky because I live close to the Farmington Hills location.  I take my five year old there.  OFTEN.  It’s truly one of the only places I can take him where I don’t worry.  I meet friends, we sit, drink coffee and chat, while our kids run wild in a contained environment.  I don’t mind taking him by myself, either.  They offer free wifi and for me, a blogger, there is nothing better!  My son is entertained somewhere other than in front of a video game and I can blissfully blog!

They have a wonderful play structure that entertains for hours.  Also, there is a toddler area which is enclosed.  It’s also separate from the bigger kid area.  So moms don’t have to worry about their babies being run down by an enthusiastic preschooler!  The toddler area has very comfy couches surrounding it, so parents can sit comfortably, read the paper and relish in the fact that their youngster is going to be so tired from playing at Jungle Java that it will ensure a long nap time!

The only thing I am not crazy about is there are no supervisors in the play structure monitoring for bullying and aggression.  Also, it gets very loud and wild during lunchtime hours.

Jungle Java has a varied menu with delicious and healthy food choices for both adults and children alike.  They also boast a wonderful coffee menu from Portland Roasting Coffee.

Children can also have their birthday parties at Jungle Java and they have different party packages for parents to chose from.

Kids love it here.  Parents love it.  So visit your nearest Jungle Java.  But remember, you’ll need to go home eventually!

Jungle Java has locations in Ann Arbor, Canton and Farmington Hills.

Their hours of operation are:

Monday-Friday  8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Melissa Brodsky a woman who wears many hats.  Some fit really beautifully.  Some she wants to return.  But she can’t find the receipts. She blogs at RockDrool, guest posts at Detroit News and obsessively tweets @rockdrool Detroit Mommies Editor.