After a series of soft-launch events, Mission Coffee’s campus location will open May 4th. Credit: Jack Like | Lantern Reporter
A new cafe is gearing up to open its doors to Ohio State.
Mission Coffee, a Columbus-based cafe, will open to the public Monday. The Ohio State location at 125 E. Woodruff Ave. will be the shop’s third location, according to owner Matt Roberson.
“Mission was founded in 2011 with our primary shop in the Short North,” Roberson said. “We have our roasting facility down in South Columbus, but in some ways, this is really only the second location. This is the first full cafe that Mission has done, except for the Price Avenue [Short North] location.”
Angelo Lozada, head barista at Mission, said the cafe will also offer breakfast items for students, including a selection of bagels and breakfast sandwiches.
“There’s a good selection of bagels and sandwiches brought by some of our co-owners,” Lozada said. “I think it’ll be a lot of grab-and-go stuff, just something quick for the area, which is well-fitting for the campus side.”
Roberson said Mission emphasizes the importance of establishing a local brand, whether that be with the products, or with the art and music that is planned for the Ohio State location.
“We use local Ohio products as much as we can,” Roberson said. “We work with a dairy from Wooster, our coffee is roasted here in Columbus and even our syrups are made in house. We also connect heavily with the creative community of Columbus, so expect to see arts and music culture events here.”
Lozada said the cafe was forced to shut down during the pandemic. Despite its hardships, he said it was nice to have a fresh start once it reopened at its original location in 2024.
“I liked being able to start at a new beginning,” Lozada said. “I’ve really enjoyed the progress we’ve made since then.”
Lozada said Mission consistently emphasizes quality, especially in its roasting and espresso drinks.
“We’re well-regarded on the roasting side,” Lozada said. “Personally, I make a lot of espresso drinks. I love being able to have that part of the presentation through the cafe for people to just enjoy, not just flavor wise, but visually too.”
Roberson said he hopes that Mission Coffee can turn into a third space for students and customers as a whole, which is a concept that the company promotes and emphasizes.
““This is a place that isn’t your house, and it isn’t work,” Roberson said. “We hope to be that third place that you go to for community, to connect to people and to exist in a place that makes you feel comfortable and connected. We are serving the physical product of coffee, but we’re also providing the service of a human connection.”
