GrandRiver Coffee Cafe in East Lansing.
I hate it when I have to work on four hours sleep. Hell, I was lucky if I got that Friday night. I worked in Ann Arbor and got home around 12:30 AM. Saturday morning, I had to be at MSU at 6:00 AM. By the time I had a quick meal and showered, it was closer to 1:30. That leaves just about four hours until I had to get up and get going. It was rough. Really rough, but at least everyone I worked with was in the same boat. We were all a little cranky Saturday morning. By the time lunch (actually breakfast) came around, I was really needing a Pepsi. I knew I didn’t want to go sit down somewhere and have a huge breakfast since that would just add to my sluggishness.
I’m not much of a coffeehouse person, but I thought I would be able to get something light. I was just going to go to Biggby but on my way, I remembered a local coffeehouse just down the street. I drove by the Biggby and found my destination.
GrandRiver Coffee Cafe is on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing a few blocks from downtown. It’s a rather large building for a local coffee house. There were a few cars in the parking lot when I pulled in and when I made it inside, it looked like most of those people were taking advantage of the free wi-fi.
There’s not a huge food menu at GrandRiver Coffee, but they did have a couple breakfast sandwich options which was perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, so I passed on that and just ordered my bacon, egg, and cheese bagel.
The girl working said she had a couple people in front of me who just ordered bagels as well, so it would be a few minutes. I wasn’t in too big of a hurry so I wasn’t worried. You get your choice of bagel. I just got a whole wheat instead of opting for one of their fancier creation. I’m a boring guy.
GrandRiver Coffee Cafe on Grand River Avenue near MSU
I heard a lot of dings and microwave opening and closing, so I’m guessing the sandwich wasn’t made fresh while I waited. It took about ten minutes for my breakfast sandwich to be wrapped in a piece of wax paper and handed to me. That time gave me a chance to check out the rest of the cafe. It’s pretty much what you think of when you think of cafe’s. There’s a number of tables and chairs, but there are also couches if you prefer the living room feel. The focal point of dining room was a giant water fountain in the middle. If the weather happens to be better than it was in the beginning of April, there’s also an outdoor patio area where you can watch the cars speed by on Grand River Avenue.
I grabbed my sandwich and headed back to Jenison. I was going to eat it on the way, but it was so hot I couldn’t even handle it. I unwrapped it and steam came billowing off. By the time I got a few blocks away, it had cooled down enough to handle. I always find bagels a little tough to eat, so I don’t know if that’s the best choice for a sandwich. Other than that, it was good, but nothing that stands out. I probably could have gotten the same thing at McDonald’s, but not for the three dollars and change I spent.
I’m not a coffee guy, so I have no idea how GrandRiver Coffee does things to make themselves stand out. I really liked the atmosphere, but I wish they had a little more of a menu to make someone like me stop in more often.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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