Northern Expresso

This place was GREAT. It provided training for special needs people and had great muffins and other baked goods made in site. They also had treats from Cops and Doughnuts. They did an excellent job with their espressos, lattes and chai which were all underpriced. Unfortunately the state of Michigan pulled the funding on their train program and closed the business. It is a real shame, the people were so friendly, baked goods fresh and tasty, and a wonderful gathering spot for the community. If they had charged market rates for their products, they could have self funded the training program. Their pricing was pre decayed on the understanding that the state couldn’t be in a for profit business. This was reduce loud, a small town lost a long standing and valuable gathering place. The shop was always busy and training is no longer being provided to those in need. It is sorely missed.

Very friendly people.
Opens at 6:30 AM every day, but Saturday (7:30 AM).
Best place in Gladwin for coffee & surfing the web.

We stop in here from time to time for coffee and a snack. The coffee is always good… if I’m feeling indulgent in the wintertime I’ll order one of their big, creamy cinnamon rolls. I like the Italian sodas — love making a «cream soda» with sugar-​free vanilla syrup. I also enjoy seeing local artists’ work on the walls. The one thing I do NOT enjoy is the yammering right-​wing religious radio station that’s on sometimes when we visit — we’ve actually chosen takeout rather than eat-​in in order to avoid having to listen to it, which is too bad because the café’ has a cute, comfy little dining area.

Stopped in in desperation to use some effecfive wifi. (McD’s is terrible-​always) and the lady came out with an offish demeanor. Made me feel like I wasn’t supposed to be there. I ordered a chicken wrap and an italian soda. Food is pretty decent. WiFi and atmosphere: service, religious misc, etc… not so much. Haven’t tried their coffees yet to decide if its worth revisiting.

Stopped in here, like others, for the wifi. It’s not really a commodity you find easily in Gladwin.
I’m glad we did, since the coffee was decent, and the food was great. The chicken salad croissant was tasty, as was the dessert. It was fairly quiet in there, and the server was pleasant and accommodating.
I’m not in Gladwin a lot when I’m in Michigan (mostly Midland and Clare), but I’d totally stop back in again.

The coffee is decent, the staff is starting to learn a bit more about how to run a coffeeshop. But, please, could someone tune-​up the fricking espresso machine? The shots have ZERO crema, which is the first sign of a machine pulling shots at the wrong pressure.
Also, could you please learn how to make foam. A latte is not a large milk coffee.
The god-​rock still annoys me, but at least it’s a little less loud.
The McDonalds down the street has Wifi now. I’m gonna start splitting my time down there. The booths are more comfortable at McDs.

I was staying at a friend’s cottage in Gladwin over Memorial weekend, but I had work to do. I went to Northern Expresso because they had free wi-​fi, and I’m glad I did. Its cozy atmosphere provided a pleasant space to do work, and the person behind the counter could not have been more nice. The tasty house blend coffee kept me going through the day, and I enjoyed the chicken salad croissant and strawberry Italian soda for lunch.