Meet Alyxandria Schroeder | Morning Ritual Coffee Bar, Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alyxandria Schroeder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alyxandria, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It’s funny because I never considered myself to be a creative person (I actually read books on how to become more creative because I was always frustrated I felt those things couldn’t come naturally to me). I still don’t know if a lot of people would look at my career as being artistic or creative, but my whole perspective has flipped. Now that I’m in it I realize I couldn’t do a career where I didn’t have the creative freedom to be as wild and crazy as I want with how I formulate drinks, create merch or decorate the space. I love watching movies and listening to music and being able to be inspired to create fun drinks based off of it. It makes my entire day when I hand someone their order and see their eyes light up. I get so much fulfillment tapping into my creativity and putting it out into the world for others to enjoy and I couldn’t imagine doing a career without art.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Morning Ritual is a coffee bar on the west side of Grand Rapids. What sets us apart (from all the other AMAZING coffee shops we also love in town) is our unique flavor combinations and specials that are artistically curated. We serve drinks inspired by astrology, tarot, music and our favorite horror movies. We like to get weird and top drinks with glitter, spooky spiders or dried flowers and edible stars. We like to lean in to our alternative roots – pulling decor inspiration from our favorite synth and metal musicians, tattoo flash and the occult. I’m very proud of how we’ve grown as a business since opening our doors. We’ve really leaned in to our style, gotten confident in the gonzo drinks we’re putting out there and made a place for ourselves in our community – hosting space for fellow artists to pop-up, encouraging collab events with other business owners and being a welcoming space to our community. We love the heck out of GR.
We got where we are through a lot of hard work and encouragement and support from the community. We feel very grateful for where we are and how we are supported. There has definitely been challenges, but keeping myself grounded and supported by friends and loved ones has been the best way to pull through. Some lessons I’ve learned are to not worry what anyone else is doing, just be yourself and create drinks and art that’s authentic to you and your people will find you.
What I want people to know about Morning Ritual is that we’re a space just about anyone can find something they like. We do fun, really out there drinks but also stick to the classics and really care about the coffee we’re putting out there (shout out to our main suppliers Woodburl and Populace). We are community forward and always want to help lift others around us – whether that’s hosting an artists very first pop-up or doing game and art nights. We’ve even started hosting musicians with our pals Free Space and Kickstand so be on the look out for shows coming up!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some shops that are on my top favorite list are Fox Naturals for the best hand crafted skin care and cutest goods. Black Cat Bodega for spooky wares. Petrichor Market and Zabhaz for vintage. Lyon Street, Lantern, Scorpion Hearts, Sparrow – I could go in forever – for coffee (after you go to Ritual, duh). Black Napkin for the best indulgent food and the Fresian for a great sit down place. I love walking around the Art Museum and Blandford Nature Center. Betwixt, Balm and Meetinghouse if you want to get tattooed. Vault of Midnight for games, zines and comics. Alt City for an alcohol free bev. I’m sure there’s so many more I’m missing – Grand Rapids has a lot of great things to offer!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My loudest shout out would be to my partner and fellow creator Adam Vass of World Champ Game Co. They inspire me with their wild creativity and willingness to always help others in the community. They make tabletop RPG games for punks, rejects, artists and creatives. They’re an incredible musician and graphic designer as well – creating merch for their band La Dispute among many others. They encourage me in so many ways and I’m so grateful to have them in my life.

Another shout out would be to Madison Doyle – my best friend and manager at Morning Ritual. The shop would not be the same without her and neither would I. She’s immensely kind and funny and so hard working.

And lastly – Luke Dean of Free Space Booking. They do SO MUCH for the local music scene, something that is so incredibly important, and book the best shows in GR. Check out their bands Vagabonds and Peace Offering!

Website: https://coffee-to-go-grand-rapids.square.site/

Instagram: @morningritual_coffeebar

Facebook: Morning Ritual