The Heart of Small Business

The Heart of Small Business

Photo by Deborah Haak

That really is the heart of our business: getting to know our customers and them getting to know us on a personal level—even to the point where our customers are willing to help us and we’re willing to help them. It truly is like an extended family. That is what’s nice about a small town but even if you were in a bigger town, if you’re an owner that’s getting to know your customers, you’re still gonna get the same thing.

I think being a working owner is what makes a business thrive because they see you as an owner out there working for them, to make sure that they’re satisfied, that they are happy. Back when I was growing up, everything was a small business. What was nice about when downtown (Three Rivers) was thriving, which is what I’m trying to do today with my business, is that they knew your name, they knew what family you came from, they knew all of that stuff. These box stores don’t.

Leslie Robbins

Leslie and Jerry Robbins are the owners of Leslie Ann’s Coffee Café, which originally opened on January 29, 2000, at 1108 W. Michigan Ave. in Three Rivers, Michigan, and later moved to the current location at 145 W. Michigan on January 27, 2008. In the 16 years Leslie and Jerry have owned and operated L.A.’s Coffee Café, they’ve won Three Rivers Commercial-News’ Readers’ Choice award for Best Coffee 16 times and were the first Michigan coffee shop to serve nitro cold brew coffee.