After doing business in Grand Rapids for more than 93 years, Ferris Coffee & Nut Co. has purchased the American Seating building on the city’s west side to satisfy the company’s need for expansion while maintaining their commitment to staying local.
Constructed in 1993, the American Seating building consists of 165,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space across a nine-acre lot. Ferris currently operates from two separate facilities: a distribution center in Wyoming, Mich. And the company’s headquarters, manufacturing, and retail space in Grand Rapids.
As one of the state’s leading coffee roasters and a national provider of gourmet roasted nuts, Ferris has experienced double digit year-over-year growth, and expansion was necessary to meet local and national interest.
“Every decision we make is grounded in an intense care for our customers, our employees, and our community,” says John VanTongeren, president and owner of Ferris. “The decision to move our operation to the much larger American Seating building on the west side allows us to bring all of our employees under one roof, better serve our customers, and enables our team to reinvest in long-term, sustainable development in the city that we have always called home.”
Ferris’ retail store and coffee shop will remain open for the next year as the company transitions into the new facility during that timeframe. Plans for the existing spaces are undetermined, but Ferris intends to maintain a strong retail and community presence throughout the city it’s called home since 1924
