Unearth The Voyage
A coffee shop in Harrison, Michigan has turned into a go-to stop thanks to its creative drinks, oversized baked goods, and built-in gift shop. The concept is simple but executed well, and it has drawn steady attention from both locals and road-trippers.
What makes it stand out is the combination. You can order specialty lattes, pick up fresh muffins or jumbo cookies, and browse a retail section filled with curated items, all in one visit.
The business was built with a clear vision, and the community response has been strong.
It is not just a quick coffee stop. It is a place people plan their route around when traveling through Northern Michigan.
A Coffee Shop Rooted Right in the Heart of Harrison
Right on 373 N 1st Street in Harrison, Michigan 48625, Up North Coffee sits at the kind of address that feels like it was always meant to hold something special. Harrison is a small town in Clare County, tucked into the heart of Michigan’s lower peninsula, and it carries that classic northern Michigan personality where neighbors know each other and visitors are treated like friends.
The shop opened around Thanksgiving 2019 after owner Erica Yost purchased and renovated the building with a clear vision in mind. She wanted rustic charm, hometown warmth, and a space that felt genuinely inviting rather than corporate or cookie-cutter.
The result is a coffee shop that fits Harrison like a well-worn flannel shirt. You can reach them at 989-368-1338, visit their website at notsoshabbygifts.com, and find them open Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM, with Sunday hours from 8 AM to 3 PM.
The address is easy to find, and the vibe makes it even easier to stay.
The Woman Behind the Counter and the Vision Behind the Shop
Erica Yost did not start out as a coffee shop owner. Before Up North Coffee existed, she worked as a registered nurse and spent time crafting and selling handmade rustic signs.
Those two chapters of her life might sound unrelated, but they actually explain everything about why this shop feels the way it does.
The nursing background gave her a genuine care for people, and the sign-making chapter gave her an eye for rustic beauty and handcrafted detail. When she decided to combine those instincts into a business, she bought a building in Harrison, rolled up her sleeves, and renovated it herself with a specific aesthetic goal in mind.
She wanted something that felt like northern Michigan, not a chain, not a franchise, but a real place with real personality. Customers who have met her describe the experience of seeing her behind the counter as part of what makes the shop feel so welcoming.
Her passion for the space is visible in every corner of it.
What the Rustic Decor Actually Looks and Feels Like Inside
The inside of Up North Coffee looks exactly like you would hope a place with that name would look. Wooden elements, warm lighting, and a layout that feels thoughtful rather than thrown together make the space feel genuinely cozy rather than just claiming to be.
Erica’s background making handmade rustic signs is visible throughout the decor, and the whole shop carries that handcrafted, intentional quality that big chain cafes rarely manage to pull off. There are signs, textures, and details that make you want to slow down and actually look around.
One detail that keeps coming up in conversations about the shop is the Pay It Forward board, where customers can leave a coffee credit for a stranger. It is a small touch, but it says a lot about the kind of community culture this place has built.
The atmosphere is not just decorative, it is functional warmth that turns a quick coffee stop into a reason to linger a little longer.
The Coffee Menu Has More Surprises Than You Might Expect
The coffee menu at Up North Coffee is genuinely impressive for a small-town shop. It covers espresso drinks like cappuccinos and mocha lattes, cold brew, flavored lattes in a wide range of creative combinations, and specialty items like an orange cream frappe that has developed its own fan base.
The shop serves Michigan-based Creation Coffee, which adds a local sourcing story to every cup. Sizes run from 16 oz all the way up to 32 oz, which is a detail that coffee lovers tend to notice and appreciate right away.
Flavor combinations like Irish cream with vanilla, lavender matcha with espresso, and iced English toffee latte show that the menu was built with creativity in mind, not just convenience. The baristas are known for making recommendations that actually land well, and the coffee itself is described consistently as smooth and well-crafted.
There is a lot to explore here, and the menu rewards the curious customer who is willing to try something new.
Cupcakes by Tammy Sue: The Bakery That Steals the Show
The bakery side of Up North Coffee is handled by Cupcakes by Tammy Sue, run by owner Erica Yost’s aunt. That family connection shows in the quality and care that goes into every item in the display case.
Fresh-baked goods arrive daily, and the selection changes with the seasons, which means repeat visitors always have something new to discover.
Jumbo cookies come in flavors like monster, peanut butter, molasses, and chocolate chip. Muffins rotate through options including blueberry, carrot, crumb, and gingerbread depending on the time of year.
Brownies, donuts, chocolate croissants, and cupcakes round out a case that is hard to walk past without pointing at something.
The donuts in particular have earned serious devotion, described as super fresh and fluffy with a texture that is hard to forget. The cookie pizza, a creative mashup of sweet and fruity flavors, is the kind of item that sounds unusual until you try it and immediately understand why people keep ordering it.
Three pastry cases full of product is not an exaggeration.
Muffin Flavors That Go Way Beyond the Basics
Muffins at Up North Coffee are not an afterthought. They are a genuine reason to visit, and the flavor lineup reflects real creativity rather than a generic bakery checklist.
Pineapple orange muffins deliver a bold tropical punch that surprises people who are not expecting that kind of flavor in a small Michigan town.
Cranberry apple muffins have a tartness that balances perfectly against the soft, baked texture. Carrot muffins carry that warm spiced quality that feels right at home in a northern Michigan autumn.
Gingerbread muffins show up seasonally and tend to disappear quickly once word gets out they are available.
The triple chocolate muffin is the one that shows up in conversations most often when people talk about coming back for seconds the very next day. Fresh-baked muffins are available every morning, and the variety in the case shifts often enough to keep things interesting.
For anyone who thinks a muffin is just a muffin, one visit to this bakery case will permanently update that opinion.
The Gift Shop That Makes You Forget You Came for Coffee
Up North Coffee shares its space with Not So Shabby Gifts and Primitives, and the gift shop side of the building is just as worth your time as the coffee counter. The two spaces flow together naturally, so after picking up your latte and a fresh donut, you find yourself wandering through shelves of local decor, handmade signs, clothing, and trinkets.
The gift shop carries items that feel curated rather than random, with a strong emphasis on rustic and Northern Michigan-inspired finds. Customers frequently mention leaving with a sign they had no intention of buying but absolutely could not put down.
The clothing section has drawn compliments too, with visitors describing the pieces as cute and genuinely wearable.
Many of the vendors represented in the shop are local, which gives the whole space a community marketplace quality that big box stores cannot replicate. Whether you are shopping for yourself or looking for a gift idea, the selection is broad enough to make the decision difficult in the best possible way.
The coffee shop and gift shop together create a stop that takes longer than planned, every single time.
How the Harrison Community Responded When the Doors First Opened
Up North Coffee opened around Thanksgiving 2019, and Harrison did not wait long to show its support. The community embraced the shop quickly, with locals making it a regular stop and spreading the word to anyone passing through Clare County.
For a small town, that kind of immediate community buy-in is meaningful. It suggests the shop filled a real gap, not just in terms of where to get a good cup of coffee, but in terms of having a gathering place that felt genuinely local and personal.
Harrison already had a reputation as a destination for outdoor recreation and lake country tourism, and Up North Coffee added a social anchor to that identity.
The shop now holds a 4.8-star rating across nearly 500 reviews on Google Maps, which is a remarkable number for any business, let alone one in a town the size of Harrison. Visitors from Texas, locals from around the county, and campers from nearby campgrounds all show up in the review section, painting a picture of a place that resonates far beyond its zip code.
The Staff Culture That Keeps People Coming Back
A coffee shop can have the best menu in the state and still feel cold if the people behind the counter do not care. That is clearly not a problem at Up North Coffee.
The staff here have developed a reputation for being warm, conversational, and genuinely enthusiastic about what they are making.
Baristas regularly suggest flavor combinations and earn trust quickly because their recommendations actually turn out to be good. One frequently mentioned example is a lavender matcha espresso latte that a barista suggested on the spot, which turned into a customer favorite after a single try.
That kind of instinct takes real knowledge and confidence.
The team also shows a flexibility that goes beyond policy. Customers who arrived just before closing on a Sunday reported that the staff happily made their drinks anyway without any attitude or rush.
That small gesture says a lot about the culture Erica has built here. Great coffee is repeatable, but a staff that genuinely enjoys their work is something you cannot fake, and regulars here know the difference.
Smoothies, Tea, and the Drinks Beyond the Coffee Menu
Not everyone who walks into Up North Coffee is chasing an espresso fix, and the menu makes sure those visitors are just as well taken care of. Smoothies, teas, and sodas round out a drink list that covers a wide range of preferences without feeling unfocused.
The mango matcha smoothie has picked up a dedicated following among non-coffee drinkers, described as fresh, flavorful, and well-balanced rather than overly sweet. Matcha options in general seem to be a strong suit here, with multiple drink combinations featuring it alongside other flavors.
The tea selection gives herbal and non-caffeinated visitors real choices rather than just a token option.
For families traveling through Harrison with kids in tow, having a menu that goes beyond coffee is genuinely useful. It means everyone in the group can find something they want rather than someone feeling left out of the experience.
The smoothies in particular have been noted for their quality, which is not always a given at a shop that leads with coffee. Up next: a look at what makes the shop a genuine destination for road trippers passing through Michigan.
A Few Practical Tips Before Your First Visit
A little planning goes a long way when visiting Up North Coffee for the first time. The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM and on Sundays from 8 AM to 3 PM, so Sunday visits require an earlier arrival than you might assume.
Arriving close to closing time on a Sunday means the pastry cases may be running low, though the staff has been known to stay helpful regardless.
The phone number is 989-368-1338, and the website at notsoshabbygifts.com gives a sense of what to expect from both the coffee shop and gift shop sides. The price point is described as budget-friendly, landing well below what most specialty coffee chains charge for a similar experience.
First-time visitors are strongly encouraged to ask the baristas for a recommendation rather than defaulting to a familiar order. The staff knows the menu well and tends to suggest combinations that become instant favorites.
Also, budget a little extra time for the gift shop, because leaving without at least browsing the shelves is something most people end up regretting on the drive home.
