People, Places, and Plates: Checker Records

Home City News People, Places, and Plates: Checker Records
People, Places, and Plates: Checker Records
The menu at Checker Records. Maggie Hroncich | Collegian

When one conjures up rhythms of coffee shop music, classic rock might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But at Checker Records, they’ve been blending coffee and rock music for four decades, creating one of the most unique spots in town to get your caffeine fix. 

Most students have likely tried Checker Records’ specialty-flavored coffee at SAB events, but not everyone has made the trip downtown to its 28 S. Howell St. location.

Entering the shop, one will see walls lined with vinyl records, cassette tapes, and band-themed merchandise. Toward the counter are shelves of baked goods and a menu displaying smoothies, coffees, teas, and Italian sodas, with unique flavors like watermelon, creme brulee, amaretto, red velvet, and snickerdoodle. 

Many of the drinks are named after famous rock stars, harkening back to the glory days of rock ’n’ roll.

John Spiteri, along with his wife, Robin, created and owns the business. Spiteri said the business has evolved a lot over the past 40 years.

“We started in the music business, and about 15 years ago we started into the coffee business,” Spiteri said. “Our kids were both in sports at the time, my son was playing travel hockey and my daughter was doing travel gymnastics and we had a lot of time to kill while they were at practices, so we started going to coffee shops. Borders at the time was doing books and coffee so we thought we would adapt it to music and coffee.”

The idea was a success — so successful, in fact, that it won Mlive’s local People’s Choice of Michigan’s Best Coffee Shop award in 2015. 

A lot of the shop’s popularity comes from the quality of the coffee itself, according to Spiteri.

“My coffee comes from Michigan and it’s roasted the day I order it so I get my coffee within 24-48 hours and it’s always fresh,” Spiteri said. “I’m a firm believer in my roaster and my flavored coffee seems to be very popular. People order it after they graduate and we ship it to them, people really like it.” 

Spiteri said he had always wanted to be his own boss. By owning a business, he had the freedom to follow his passions, create custom drinks, and do it all in an atmosphere that he loves. 

“I never really wanted to work for anybody. My dad had a shoe store when I was a kid, so I got experience in sales working for my dad. My wife worked at the Market House when she was still in high school and she got experience in customer service,” Spiteri said. “What makes Checker Records unique is that we still, even to this day, do customer service, which has really fallen to the wayside with a lot of other businesses. Checker Records is a reflection of what we love. We like music, we like coffee, so we just evolve with everything and adapt to whatever the situation is.” 

According to Spiteri, another thing he loves about owning Checker Records is the variety of goods he sells. 

“We have music, we have scarves, purses, guitar accessories, and incense,” he said. “I like to consider us a party store because we have a little bit of everything.”

Checker Records’ ability to adapt has proven to be useful, especially given the tumult of the last year. The unique atmosphere and the quality coffee is most certainly here to stay, so whether you’re in the mood for quality coffee or classic albums, stop in to Checker Records and rock on.