Coffee shops can be found everywhere in Bowling Green, but each one is special in its own way.

Both local and chain shops reside in BG. Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Panera, Flatlands, Biggby, Juniper Brewing Company and Grounds for Thought are just a few of the options.

While they all sell coffee, each store is different.

Grounds for Thought opened in fall 1989. Since then, the store has grown, both with products and space. The store now has around 7,000 square feet of retail space.

Kelly Wicks, the co-owner, said all the space allows for the community to gather and just enjoy being together.

“For over three decades it’s been a place for everybody in the community to come and either meet with friends or study, or we have chess groups and knitting groups and book clubs,” he said. “They all utilize the shop and the space for things of that nature.”

As well as a coffee shop, Grounds is home to the largest used bookstore between Columbus and Ann Arbor. Wicks said they have over 200,000 books from many different genres.

Grounds also roasts its own coffee. Each morning, employees make their own muffins, scones, bagels and cookies. Many other types of pastries can be found in the store as well as ice cream, donuts and other sweets.

Grounds is open daily from 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

Juniper Brewing Company is another downtown store that offers much more than just coffee.

Along with coffee, they sell beer and other foods such as breakfast burritos, soup, salad and burgers. Customers can come in, sit down and enjoy a coffee or a full meal while they work or hangout with friends.

“I would say it’s just a good environment to hangout or to study,” Lydia Love, a Juniper barista said.

Love said the shop offers college students half off café drinks, Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m.

Juniper’s coffee shop is open daily from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. The rest of the store is open Sunday and Monday from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m.-11 p.m.

In 2022, Flatlands Coffee was voted the Best Coffee Roster in Ohio by Food and Wine magazine.

Their coffee isn’t the only thing they pride themselves on. Richie Arndorfer, a Flatlands employee, said they are an extremely customer-based shop.

“That’s kind of our main goal, we want to create an environment where we’re really creating relationships with people and tailoring drinks to them,” he said. “Trying to just give them the best experience possible.”

Arndorfer said they recently started selling breakfast sandwiches in the shop. They also sell scones, coffee cakes, cookies and other pastries.

Flatlands is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Biggby Coffee has been open in BG for eight years. They sell a variety of different drinks and unlike most premium coffee shops, their espresso beans are medium roast instead of dark roast.

Along with coffee and other drinks, the store also sells bagels, muffins and sandwiches.

On Wednesdays anyone can come in and buy any drink and get the second one free. On Tuesdays students can get a discount when they present their student ID.

Gary Dible, the owner of Biggby, said while product is important and he loves the store’s products, he also believes customer service is equally important.

“We pride ourselves with that our philosophy is we want every customer to leave the store in a better mood than when they arrived,” he said.

Biggby is open Monday-Friday from 6 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Each coffee shop in Bowling Green offers many different options for all customers.

“I just encourage people to, if they haven’t explored downtown Bowling Green and all the great coffee shops, please do so,” Wicks said. “Come down and check everything out.”