Brew Coffeehouse and Cafe in Traverse City, Michigan – a digital nomad review

I’m visiting friends in Traverse City, Michigan for a few days and wanted to review a few cafes that are suitable for remote working.

I did a Google search and came upon a few suggestions. Reviewed some patron photos, websites and have a list of 3 cafes that I will visit while here.

First stop on my list: Brew Coffeehouse and Cafe on Front Street in downtown Traverse City.

Location

Super easy to locate the cafe. It is a small storefront, but very easy to spot with a cute patio at the front (likely to be closed soon for cold weather season).

Parking

Lots of street parking and lots nearby. I parked in a small lot in the alley behind Brew. All parking in downtown Traverse City is paid parking, and many spaces have a 2-hour maximum. In the lot that I parked, you can pay at the meter or use the ParkMobile app. Parking cost $3.40 for two hours.

Entry

You can enter Brew from the alleyway entrance or the Front Street main entrance. I came in through the alley, which was pretty easy to spot with the beautiful bright mural with bicycle parking available.

From Front Street, Brew is nestled next to City Opera House:

First Impressions

Upon entering, I was amazed at the size of the cafe. It’s a short but narrow building and they did a nice job distributing tables for max capacity. There are 11 two-top tables along the wall with tufted seating on one side. A few larger tables are available, as well as some cushy chairs, window seating and coffee bar seating.

Brew Coffeehouse view from the front entrance

Window seating looking at Front Street at Brew Coffeehouse

WIFI

The wifi connection is an open network, no password is needed. I highly recommend when connecting to an open network to use a VPN, such as NordVPN. Please consider using my referral link for NordVPN HERE.

I ran a test speed through Measurement Lab and the results showed very fast upload and download speeds.

Outlets

Available everywhere! It looks like there is an outlet available for every two tables against the wall, along the bar and individual tables have easy access to outlets.

Overall review

I enjoyed my afternoon at Brew. The menu was sufficient for a nice beverage and small food item. I love that they have the option to grab an adult beverage while you are studying or working as well. Seating is expansive, although I would assume there are days and times that all tables are full – on a Thursday afternoon, it was pretty busy. The staff was friendly and efficient. The parking situation poses a problem with the two-hour time max. You can “cheat” the system, wait for your time to run out and use the app to pay for another set of time. At over $3 per two hours, I’m not sure I would make the choice to spend a half or full day working here.

Follow Brew

You can follow Brew Coffeehouse and Cafe at the following places:

Website: https://www.brewtc.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrewTC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brew_tc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brewtc