From the Marine Corps to the roastery floor

Mike Loyd joined the United States Marine Corps in 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, serving as an officer for close to seven years. While still on active duty in 2016, he opened Solar Cafe, a two-location coffee shop in Sneads Ferry, Eastern North Carolina — building both locations from the ground up, running daily operations himself before hiring a manager, and eventually selling the second location for a profit. Solar Cafe is still a 5-star rated shop on Google and Yelp today.

In 2018, Mike brought that same operator instinct to Atlanta and founded Dope Coffee — a coffee company built on the idea that specialty coffee should feel like the culture that raised him: hip-hop, community, and craft, not pretension.

Built alongside Chel

Michelle "Chel" Loyd is Dope Coffee's co-founder, COO, and Chief Product Officer — a registered dietitian and professional chef who shapes everything from the roast profiles to the food-safety standards behind every bag. She's the reason Dope Coffee's products are crafted with the same rigor as they are with flavor.

Why coffee, hip-hop, and culture

Dope Coffee exists to bridge the worlds of great coffee and Black culture — crafting products, cafes, and experiences that elevate both. From our roastery to our cafes in Atlanta to the artists we collaborate with, every cup is built to change how coffee culture looks and feels for the people who've historically been left out of it.

Stay Dope.