Motor City Match awardee Anna’s Café honors family legacy while building community

• Anna’s Café (pronounced /AH-nuh/) combines family heritage with community focus in the historic Brush Park neighborhood

• Female entrepreneur Stefani Jakubowski transitions from advertising career to fulfill café dream, naming business after her grandmother’s 1980s Greek restaurant

• Café partners with local Detroit roasters and pastry makers while aiming to create a welcoming community gathering space

• Anna’s Café becomes the 185th Motor City Match recipient to open and received a $50,000 grant towards build-out costs and espresso equipment

• Motor City Match has awarded $19.1M in cash grants; 85% of overall winners are minority-owned businesses, 70% are women-owned and 67% are owned by Detroit residents    

MAY 23, 2025 (DETROIT) — Today, the City of Detroit and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) celebrated the grand opening of Anna’s Café, a female-owned and operated coffee shop in Brush Park. Anna’s Café is now the 185th Motor City Match business to open a brick-and-mortar location in Detroit.  

Anna’s Café represents both family legacy and community building for owner Stefani Jakubowski. The coffee shop honors her yiayia (Greek for grandmother), Anna (pronounced /AH-nuh/), who operated a Greek restaurant by the same name in Warren in the 1980s.

“Some of my favorite memories are of sipping coffee with my yiayia,” said Jakubowski. “She inspired my dream of opening a café of my own.” 

Jakubowski traded her decade-long advertising career for coffee entrepreneurship during the pandemic. After launching a mobile espresso cart in 2022 and completing formal barista training, she found her way back to Detroit, where her family’s roots run deep. The path to realizing her longtime dream of owning a coffee shop took several turns before leading her to Detroit.

“Detroit is a special place for me, and I wanted to be part of the community that’s growing here in Brush Park,” Jakubowski explained. 

Anna’s Café balances premium beverages with a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. The menu features locally sourced pastries from Cannelle and specialty coffees like chocolate lavender lattes. Jakubowski partners with Detroit roasters including Motor City Match recipient Craig’s Coffee and Dessert Oasis, treating coffee like fine wine – each brew with its own heritage and story.

“There’s this beauty and delicacy to coffee that I want to share with people here at Anna’s Café. And I think coffee can be great without taking itself too seriously,” Jakubowski said. “Having an environment that is fun, playful and makes people happy is just so important to me. 

“Anna’s Café shows how Motor City Match helps entrepreneurs like Stefani transform their dreams into neighborhood gathering spaces," said Detroit Deputy Mayor Melia Howard prior to the event. “It’s not just about serving great coffee, it’s also about creating connections and building community, one cup at a time."

Anna’s Café operates at 81 Erskine St., east of Woodward on the first floor of the SOMA parking garage. The hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. 

The shop received a $50,000 grant from Motor City Match that was used to purchase espresso equipment and assist with renovation costs.

“We love seeing entrepreneurs like Stefani bring their vision to life,” said Sean Gray, vice president of Small Business Services for the DEGC, which manages the Motor City Match program. “With her coffee expertise and commitment to building connections, she’s creating more than just a café – she’s adding another important gathering spot to our city’s small business community.”

Through 28 rounds of Motor City Match:    

• Total cash grants: $19.5 million (Total leveraged investment: $104.5 million)   

• 85 percent are minority-owned businesses   

• 70 percent are women-owned businesses   

• 68 percent are businesses owned by Detroit residents

About Motor City Match      

Motor City Match is a unique partnership between the City of Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit (EDC) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Competitive financial assistance is supported by a broad partnership of Southeast Michigan community development financial institutions and corporations including, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Ford Foundation, Hudson Webber Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, New Economy Initiative, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Motor City Match applications are available quarterly. More information is available at www.MotorCityMatch.com.