NILES — After nearly two years in business, Top Heavy Coffee closed shop on Sunday.

Business owners Eric and Wendy Halder opened the business on Sept. 28, 2016, after renovating the storefront at 205 E. Main St.

On Thursday night, customers found out via social media that the business would be shutting down promptly.

“We’ve had a great time meeting all of you and an amazing time hanging out with some of you,” the post read. “This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you Latte.  (That’s a coffee pun, it really is goodbye).”

Friday morning, following the announcement, Eric worked alongside baristas to whip up drinks for customers, but his work was frequently punctuated by hugs and handshakes from people who were sad to hear the news.

“I’ve gotten a lot more reactions than I thought I would,” Eric said. “They appreciated what we were doing here and that felt good to hear.”

Outside of operating Top Heavy Coffee, both Wendy and Eric have full-time jobs, Eric as a web developer and Wendy at Ultra Camp. Trying to balance multiple careers factored into their decision to close, Eric said. 

“It was just more so my wife and I both work full-time, so to keep it running we would have had to leave one of our careers,” Eric said. “It was waning on us quite a bit – it doesn’t matter how much coffee you drink.”

Another factor was a lack of foot traffic to the downtown storefront, which Eric described as “could have been better.”

While Eric said he could not divulge details at this time, he said the business owners are looking at options for the storefront space. He does not know yet when those decision will be made.

“We want whatever happens to be a good fit for the community,” Eric said.

At Top Heavy Coffee, customers could find coffee and tea beverages as well as snacks, like vegan cookies.

Sipping a white rose mélange tea on Friday morning, Teddy Jones, of Niles, worked on his laptop. He said that he visits the coffee shop on occasion.

“I was sad it was closing,” Jones said. “I think it’s a great space. There is nothing else like it in Niles, where you can work remotely.”

Jones said it is also one of the few places where he could go for a cup of tea. He lamented that h is not sure where he will go now to do his work remotely. While he said he is considering visiting commercial restaurants for this space, he said he doesn’t think the environment is as friendly as Top Heavy.

Looking back on nearly two years of operating their business, Eric said he was glad they were able to provide a place for people to go and hang out.

“We kind of started this space to have a spot to listen to music and read comic books,” Eric said. “I like the community that we built here and the people we got to meet.”

Eric and Wendy spent nearly two years researching for the business venture and making renovations to the storefront. Examples of this could be seen in the details of the custom-made bar, created from recycled beams from a barn. Wooden benches, where people lounged and sipped their drinks were formerly pews in a church in Benton Harbor.   

Top Heavy also partnered with other local businesses, selling Veni’s chocolate and creating a horchata inspired coffee beverage with El Amigo Pepe. The coffee shop employed six people, not including Wendy and Eric.