The Outpouring Cafe
507 W. Michigan AvenueBeing in Paw Paw early on a Tuesday morning was not on my plans for this week but that’s what happened.
I got up and started a normal day of work but then had to make a run to Paw Paw almost as soon as I got in the office. I was there about 45 minutes and then started to head back to Kalamazoo.
I wasn’t super hungry yet but there’s a coffee shop I pass all the time on my way to football games at Falan Field. It’s never open on Friday nights but since it was still morning, I noticed the open sign on and made a quick turn in to the parking lot.
The Outpouring Cafe is on Michigan Avenue at Johnson Road right across the street from Paw Paw Middle School. The cafe is part of the larger Outpouring of Hope ministry in the large cinder block building that used to be an interior design office. The cafe takes up space on the north side of the building and is easily identifiable from the awning over the door.
There’s a lot going on in the large (for a coffee house) space but the primary set up will seem familiar enough. There’s an order counter not too far inside the door. The drinks are listed on sign boards on the wall then they’re made right there behind the counter. The food menu is pretty small and limited mostly to soup, salads, and sandwiches. That menu was on a laminated piece of paper sitting on the counter next to the cash register.
There is also a small bakery case at the end of the order counter if you’re looking for that quick grab and go option to go with a coffee.
The rest of the space isn’t really set up like a typical coffee house. There’s a large retail area for the Rilynn Rose Candle Company. Tables are kind of set up in the open spaces surrounding the retail space. It’s not a traditional dining room with an open room concept. This layout does give a little more privacy for conversations or just to be alone to read a book and sip on a drink.
Smaller tables are kind of put where ever there is space in the rest of the space. They also have a couple of larger conference rooms that have much more seating but those don’t seem to be open unless there is a need.
I’m not a coffee drinker and I was just in the mood for a sandwich. I was really happy it was still breakfast time because there is nothing better than a good bagel breakfast sandwich.
The Breakfast Sandwich at The Outpouring Cafe is really simple. It’s egg and cheese then you can pick a meat for a little bit of an upcharge. I picked bacon to make it a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. The bagels actually come from Big Apple Bagel. I picked the Everything Bagel…like any normal person would. The sandwich was put together pretty quickly behind the counter and warmed up before being handed over to me. I grabbed the bag and headed to my car. A bagel sandwich is easy to eat while driving and I needed to get back to the office. The sandwich was all I was hoping for. The warm toasty bagel is the perfect delivery for the breakfast staples. I say it all the time, I’m not a coffee drinker but I do love coffee houses for the simple approach many take to sandwiches. I was in the mood for a breakfast sandwich and I got a good one.
The cost for the sandwich was right around $5.
The Outpouring Cafe was on the long list of places that I drive by all the time and think, “I need to stop there one of these days.” “One of these days” finally got here as I was in Paw Paw early enough and had time to stop. The cafe is really unique in it’s layout and atmosphere. They have a solid food menu to go along that caffeine that so many of us need in the morning.
SW Michigan Dining 