It was a Saturday morning. The sun shined bright onto the big, reflective glass windows in the front of the shop. The red flower-shaped sign read “MG’s Coffee Brews and Bites.” When I walked in, my eyes immediately adjusted to take it all in including the scent of coffee and baked goods that filled the air. The quiet background music created a lovely feel-good environment and the quaint decor made for a very cozy, hidden away feel. 

I sat down and asked for any drink suggestions and the barista, Anna, recommended pumpkin spice. I ended up getting an iced pumpkin spice latte that was absolutely delicious. It was perfectly sweetened covered in spices and homemade whipped cream. 

I met the owners, Marina Nagy and Garth John, who both knew they wanted to open a coffee shop for a long time and were in the process of planning out the details when they got married. Nagy originally realized what she wanted to do with her life while laying on the gorgeous beaches of Mauritius, an island country in East Africa. On one of their first dates they were discussing what they wanted to do and she found out that John had always wanted to own a coffee shop. Nagy and John found a partner in life and business from then on.

There were struggles in the process of opening up MGs four years ago, but Nagy emphasized that opening their own business was well worth any hardships.

“It might look scary at first, Nagy said, “but if you do it step by step it’s much less scary looking, and it’s very rewarding.” 

For years the goal was to open up the shop, so when that happened they needed to make new goals. 

 “We were open for a few months and then we were like okay, now what,” Nagy said.

As MG’s flourished, so did Nagy’s baking skills. Before opening the shop she didn’t know how to bake and now she makes delectable sandwiches, pastries, and cakes every day. Her favorite thing is to decorate the cakes which I’ve noted because of how beautiful the cakes on display are.

”I really like decorating cakes,” Nagy said, “when I get a cake order where I kind of get [the freedom] to decorate, it brings out my creativity.”

There were times when they were a little financially unsure of themselves and the business, but in the end it always worked out.

“In the moment you might feel like you don’t know how you’ll make it to the end of the month, but we trusted the process and it worked out great,” Nagy said. 

Their first tip hangs on the wall as a reminder of their success and how far they’ve come. With motivation and dedication, entrepreneurship can be very rewarding. Sure, there are challenges, but there are endless possibilities of what you can create when you’ve built up a business from the smallest starting points.

“For the long term”, Nagy said, “the sky is the limit, we’ll see where it goes.”