Drink from the ‘Ferrari of espresso machines’ when this new Charlotte cafe opens

Kayleigh Ruller
·5 min read

Two forces for good in Charlotte — Manolo Betancur of Manolo’s Bakery and 99-year-old Myers Park United Methodist Church — are joining forces to launch the nonprofit coffee shop Higher Grounds by Manolo’s in the church’s new Center of Hope building off Queens Road in May.

Britt Yett, the program director for missions and food ministry at the church, said, “The goal was to be a nonprofit, mission-centered cafe, and then, obviously, the next call was Manolo. That’s a no brainer. He personifies what we want to be in the community.”

Manolo Betancur and Britt Yett will open the doors to nonprofit cafe Higher Grounds in early May. When the church’s expansion plans began, Betancur became its no-brainer business partner, given his years of activism and entrepreneurship in East Charlotte.
Manolo Betancur and Britt Yett will open the doors to nonprofit cafe Higher Grounds in early May. When the church’s expansion plans began, Betancur became its no-brainer business partner, given his years of activism and entrepreneurship in East Charlotte.

Betancur is well-known in the Charlotte area, not just for his cafe, bakery and entrepreneurial expertise at Manolo’s Bakery, Artisan Vegelato, and Tita’s Cakehouse. He’s also shown tenacious leadership in mission-centered social justice initiatives, particularly with human rights issues facing immigrant, farm worker and Latino communities.

He started the “We Care” initiative, where goods are bought directly from the producers, like farmers and coffee growers, and profits return back to those very communities. He also spearheaded “The Cake Project,” a program where the bakery team donates cakes to unhoused communities for their birthdays. At the beginning of each year near the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, Betancur donates 10% of his profits to local nonprofits, like delivering blankets to encampments in Charlotte.

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How this connection started from community activism

In fact, it’s social activism that forged this baker-meets-church friendship in the first place, back in December 2018 at Manolo’s Bakery.

The church’s former pastor, Nathan Arledge, and Betancur first met then, gathering alongside other activists to ceremonialize the termination of the county’s participation in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287(g) program, which gave sheriff’s deputies permission to perform immigration enforcement inside jails.

From that initial meeting, Arledge then joined Betancur on his trips to bring bread to nearby migrant workers and Christmas tree farmers.

“I became the adopted son of this church,” Betancur said.

The two soon met up in McAllen, Texas, near the Mexican border, giving food to children through a faith ministry program. And when the pandemic hit, the church recruited Betancur, and gave him grant money to make school lunches.

“This church and World Central Kitchen and this neighborhood saved my business and my bakery,” Betancur said.

In 2022, Betancur began collecting relief funds — from actual financial aid to handwritten cards — for Ukrainian refugees through various nonprofits and traveled with Alredge to deliver aid to refugees in Poland.

Since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Betancur has visited Eastern Europe three times, building ovens at Ukrainian bakeries, purchasing a bakery van and directly feeding Ukrainian refugees.

“It’s a message that I keep saying to CEOs in America … yes, you can have a business, you can have a profit, but you can do more for the community, you can do things for the globe,” Betancur said.

So for both mission-centered parties with a collaborative history, this coffee shop felt like an immediate, mutually aligned partnership.

Britt Yett, missions program director at Myers Park United Methodist Church, and Manolo Betancur, social activist and founder of Manolo’s Bakery, have collaborated for nearly two years to create Higher Grounds by Manolo’s.
Britt Yett, missions program director at Myers Park United Methodist Church, and Manolo Betancur, social activist and founder of Manolo’s Bakery, have collaborated for nearly two years to create Higher Grounds by Manolo’s.

What to expect

Higher Grounds, an expansive space with high ceilings and a sprawling white-tile coffee bar, can seat 70 people. Yett said the cafe will be a central part of the new building, which also features a gym, classrooms, kitchens, conference and podcast rooms, and even a downstairs emergency shelter hospitality suite for people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte.

“Everyone should be welcome,” she said.

Higher Grounds by Manolo’s will include a seating area.
Higher Grounds by Manolo’s will include a seating area.

The finalized space will include greenery and art from Colombian artists, which will be for sale. There will be limited outdoor seating and a large parking lot off Queens Road.

In terms of coffee and food, there will be a Simonelli espresso machine, which is “the Ferrari of espresso machines,” Betancur said. The high-quality coffee beans will be fair-trade and come directly from Colombia.

Manolo Betancur called Higher Grounds’ Simonelli espresso machine “the Ferrari of espresso machines.”
Manolo Betancur called Higher Grounds’ Simonelli espresso machine “the Ferrari of espresso machines.”

Alongside what Betancur calls “traditional” American treats like blueberry and red velvet muffins and gluten-free brownies, he will sell his Artisen Vegelato, promising visitors wafts of his fresh-baked waffle cones. Church chef Adam Reaves will make grab-and-go sandwiches.

The baked goods like muffins and brownies, along with the vegan gelato at Higher Grounds by Manolo’s will come from Manolo Betancur’s other concepts, Manolo’s Bakery and Artisen Vegelato.
The baked goods like muffins and brownies, along with the vegan gelato at Higher Grounds by Manolo’s will come from Manolo Betancur’s other concepts, Manolo’s Bakery and Artisen Vegelato.

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The cafe will also sell classic Colombian cheese bread, which holds a special place in both Yett’s and Betancur’s hearts. For Yett, it’s her guilty pleasure. For Betancur, bread was what he ate as a child and watched his mother cook.

“Making a piece of bread is a connection with life … bread is what connects all of the cultures and religions around the world. So of course, we are going to have bread,” he said.

The coffee bar at Higher Grounds by Manolo’s.
The coffee bar at Higher Grounds by Manolo’s.

The cafe will donate 100% of its profits to the community. Yett said the mission’s focus areas are affordable housing, food insecurity, schools and children, equity and empowerment, and partnering with neurodiversity and LGTBQ groups advocacy groups, along with Habitat for Humanity and Room at the Inn.

The “buy one, pay for one” board in the cafe will allow guests to enjoy a pay-it-forward practice, too.

All proceeds from Higher Grounds, whether it be profits from a cup of Colombian coffee or a grab-and-go sandwich, will go back to the community and Myers Park United Methodist Church’s nonprofit partners.
All proceeds from Higher Grounds, whether it be profits from a cup of Colombian coffee or a grab-and-go sandwich, will go back to the community and Myers Park United Methodist Church’s nonprofit partners.

While Betancur’s team from Manolo’s Bakery will open Higher Grounds, the ultimate plan is for the cafe to partner with workforce development programs like Community Culinary School of Charlotte and Cakeable to recruit employees who’ve experienced employment barriers, such as those who have been previously incarcerated, developmentally disabled or experienced homelessness.

“One of my biggest fights every day has been that there’s an opportunity for everybody,” he said. “Being an immigrant myself, it’s a symbol of my immigrant community that they are also welcome here … not just in the neighborhood to work in the yards and the gardens … but they are welcome to come to a beautiful place that is welcoming them.”

Higher Grounds by Manolo’s will include a stairitorium that children can play on.
Higher Grounds by Manolo’s will include a stairitorium that children can play on.

Yett told CharlotteFive that there’s a certain responsibility the church has to provide education and exposure to the Charlotte community.

“You’re going to find out more about Colombian food culture, shelter programs, and our unhoused neighbors,” she said.

The mission statement for this cafe, which will be plastered on the cafe walls, came from a sermon given by the church’s current pastor James Howell: “To build relationships with others, we think it’s good to find common ground, but God’s love leads us not to common ground, but to higher ground.”

Higher Grounds by Manolo’s

Location: 1501 Queens Road Charlotte, NC 28207

Hours: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. 7 days a week

Cuisine: Coffee, pastries, cakes, gelato

Instagram: @highergroundsclt

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