Every spring, coffee lovers in the Glass City take part in Coffee Quest 419, a community-wide adventure that encourages people to shop at locally owned coffee shops and potentially win prizes along the way.

Some of the long-standing coffee shops – Black Kite Coffee, Maddie & Bella and The Flying Joe – kicked off the campaign before Destination Toledo began managing the event in 2024. The event originally began in 2018 as a program run by local coffee shops.

“I believe Jen, the owner, was one of the first ones to help create it,” noted Josie Kennedy, manager of Brew Coffee Bar, a specialty coffee shop near the campus of UToledo that serves Zingerman’s coffee and espresso, as well as baked goods from area bakers.

This year, 28 shops are participating in the challenge to engage in the community, promote their businesses and foster local pride. The Quest now features an online passport to keep track of visits.

“It’s definitely been beneficial,” said Jamie Stiriz, owner of Casual Grounds Coffee, a Sylvania coffee shop that even has a selfie wall. “It helps marketing for us—we’re kind of like a hidden gem.”

For Black Kite manager Emerson Dupont, he said the challenge helps significantly increase foot traffic and increase engagement during slow seasons at the independent shop in the Old West End.

“We definitely saw more people return as customers that we hadn’t seen prior to Coffee Quest,” said Dupont.

Caleigh Heuring, director of marketing communications at Destination Toledo, said that while there has been an increase in customers and engagement, economic gains have also resulted from the Quest.

“Last year’s results showed more than $222,000 in economic activity that we could attribute to Coffee Quest. We were able to see that 17 percent of the participants were from outside the Toledo region, which was surprising to us.”

For Stiriz, the quest has significantly affected her business sales, with total sales nearly doubling from February to March. In February, total items sold were 1,430. In March, sales increased to about 2,215, and April saw approximately 2,641, according to operational manager Kylee McBride.

“It’s really fun to keep track of the number of people coming in through Coffee Quest,” Stiriz said. “We have our own data in our system that we’re tracking.”

In March and April alone, Casual Grounds Coffee has seen more than 422 Coffee Quest participants.

A common theme among local coffee shop employees is their enthusiasm for meeting new faces through the challenge.

“It definitely gives us a cool opportunity to meet people who are a little bit further out, just because this goes all the way to Wauseon and Bowling Green,” Kennedy said. “People who live there suddenly start coming here because they’ve heard about it, which is really cool.”

The challenge provides mutual benefits for businesses and customers, alike. Participants can win prizes, discover new spots and spend time with friends and family.

“I started the challenge with my dad,” said participant Heather Schramm. “It’s just one of the things we bond over.”

Schramm has participated in the challenge since its conception, with a short break during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s an adventure—you mark all the coffee shops off your list.”

To Schramm, the Coffee Quest Challenge is more than just a cup of joe.

For Stephanie Hinz, a recent participant since 2024, the event offers a date-night opportunity for her and her husband to spend time together—through coffee.

“I believe I visited 19 shops last fall,” Hinz said. “I really enjoyed every stop! I love getting Americanos or cappuccinos because they showcase the quality and taste of the coffee.”

A motivating factor for Hinz is the exploration of new shops and the enjoyment of delicious coffee.

“I would recommend this experience to any coffee lover in the 419 area. It’s so much fun and a great way to support our community.”

Similar to Schramm and Hinz, mother and daughter Jocelyn and Jennifer Huber use the challenge as an opportunity to spend time together.

“That’s our kind of memory—going into all the places, enjoying the time and creating little memories along the way,” Jennifer Huber said.

Jocelyn Huber said her mom encouraged her to join the quest and try different coffee spots.

“She was like, ‘Hey Jocelyn, do you want to do this Coffee Quest?’” Jocelyn recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.’ So we did that last year, and we’re doing it again this year because we enjoy it so much.”

The Hubers said the challenge opens the door for new experiences and exciting activities.

“We like to try new things, venture out and explore new places,” Jennifer Huber said. “We like coffee so it was the perfect combination. And then it was like, ‘Oh, well, you can get this T-shirt. Why don’t we go for that?’ So that was an added bonus, I guess you could say.”

The Hubers began their journey with Coffee Quest a couple of years ago, before the physical passport became digital.

“I could tell you the improvements that have been made with the app—it’s been really nice,” Jennifer Huber said. “It has a map and location features. You can get access to everything.”

To learn more and take part in the challenge, participants can search “Coffee Quest 419” online and click “Sign Up.”

Participants who visit three shops receive a sticker. After visiting 13 shops, they can win a themed keychain. To win a T-shirt, participants must visit 23 shops. To enter the grand prize raffle, participants must visit all 28 shops.

Contestants have until June 15 to join in on the fun. Heuring said Destination Toledo has no plans to stop the annual tradition as long as it continues to positively impact the community and local businesses.