Matt Ashton takes a straightforward mentality to Lekko Coffee, his successful Ohio City coffee shop and roastery: Don’t say no to an opportunity.
Since opening his flagship shop at the corner of Detroit Ave. and West 26th Street in 2021, Ashton has quickly made steps forward to expand the brand. Not long after opening, the concept took over more of its building’s space, creating more seating for customers. And last year, Lekko started roasting all of its beans in an Old Brooklyn warehouse, drastically increasing production.
Compared to the company’s beginnings in Ashton’s basement with a one-pound coffee roaster, the results are staggering.
“We’re talking about changing from 35 to 45 hours a week of roasting, to six, for the exact same amount,” Ashton says, sipping a cup of black coffee from a window table at his Ohio City cafe. “Right now our space is a little large for what we need, but it’s with growth in mind. Every move has been with future goals in mind.”
All those roasted beans need to be ground into coffee somewhere, and new locations are coming to fruition. Ashton aims to open a second location of Lekko Coffee in Old Brooklyn, in a storefront adjacent to his roasting facility, by September.
The coffee shop is also located next door to The Geek Peek, a newly opened game and collectible store, at 4298 Pearl Road. The two businesses will share a door on the inside, encouraging customers to visit each shop.
Read more: The Geek Peek Becomes Old Brooklyn’s New Nerdy Haven
The sliver of a shop will host 15 customers indoors, with an additional 18-24 seats on an enclosed patio between the front space and its roasting facility, Ashton says. With some heating lamps for the winter and umbrellas for the summer, he hopes to make use of the patio for nine or 10 months out of the year.
Like its Ohio City counterpart, Lekko’s Old Brooklyn location will be decorated with local art, including a future mural in the patio area. It will also feature a menu of in-house bites, designed by the former The Grocery sous chef who goes by "Skippy."
Lekko and The Geek Peek are just two components of new activity and interest in Old Brooklyn, spurred by both private developers and the neighborhood’s community development corporation. Ashton pointed out a new yoga studio opening in the neighborhood and the CDC’s plans for a development surrounding St. Luke’s Church at the corner of Memphis Ave. and Pearl Road.
“It’s really, really exciting. It’s all bubbling under the surface still,” Ashton says. “I think our goal is, every up-and-coming neighborhood has a coffee shop that people can come to and hang out and create foot traffic around the area. ... It's a form of growth we couldn’t say no to.”
Ashton’s wife, Laura Ashton, an architect and former NRP Group employee, recently left her full-time job to help fast-track Lekko’s future plans, Matt Ashton says.
What those plans look like are still taking shape: Matt says he’s looked at potential new Lekko locations in a variety of Northeast Ohio neighborhoods, including The Flats, Tremont and parts of the East Side.
“We certainly have our eyes on other shops, other locations, going forward,” Matt says.
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