BLACKDUCK — The old Wells Fargo Bank building at 17 Summit Ave. in Blackduck promises big changes for the local area.
Purchased by D&K Builders and Remodeling in 2024, the site has been transformed — in part — into a drive-thru for Heroes Rise Coffee.
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After a final inspection on Jan. 7, the drive-thru opened for business, serving a full menu of coffee and other caffeinated confections. Last week’s soft opening will continue through the end of January, from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
During its soft opening, owners Matt and Jeff VanGrinsven will concentrate on hiring and training new staff, and by Feb. 1 will plan to shift to full-time hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and while we start looking for staff, it will be the two of us together with some of our summertime staff who work the Heroes Rise Coffee trailer with us as well,” Matt said. “After that, we really want Blackduck people to invest in our local hiring.”
Come February, the duo hopes to start an internship program to train new baristas.
“It’s a growing field and one that’s fun to work in,” Matt mentioned. “We’re excited to be here and I think we’re going to grow with the town.”
The VanGrinsvens look forward to operating the full-service coffee shop while offering daily specials and selling its variety of coffee beans. Next month, Heroes Rise will offer to-go options including gallon-sized coffees for the workplace or other functions.
“All of our coffee is freshly roasted all the time,” Jeff said, “so even in the bags, it’s freshly ground and freshly roasted, whether you’re pulling up to our drive-thru here in Blackduck or buying it by the bag. The bags will be available for sale here every day.”
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Taking the leap
In November 2020 the pair expanded from their mobile coffee trailer to a brick-and-mortar shop in Bemidji where KIN Asian Market is now located. A few months later, it relocated to the former Cabin Coffeehouse location on Third Street downtown, coined Third Street Station, which has since closed.
The Blackduck location of Heroes Rise currently leases from D&K Builders with the rest of the building still under construction for two other incoming businesses.
“D&K has been just phenomenal in getting all this done,” Matt said. “They contacted us in 2024 and said, ‘Hey, we are buying this building, and we’d love to have you be a part of it.’ So, we came and checked it out, and we were like, ‘Holy cow, this is a pretty cool idea.’”
Alongside their initial excitement, the pair were a bit nervous to open up shop in Blackduck considering its smaller footprint, but ultimately decided to take the leap.
“There is a trend in the coffee industry right now that is kind of like microbrews for beer. They’re doing that for coffee,” Matt detailed. “A company we follow closely is Bully Brew out of Grand Forks (N.D.), and they opened up a store in McIntosh and had a lot of success there, so we kind of put out some feelers to see what people would think. The response from Blackduck has been insane.”
The VanGrinsvens credited the owners of Bully Brew for their help in expanding into a new market.
“Us smaller brewers have to stick together,” Matt added. “This is definitely a test market for us to see how it goes, and we couldn’t have had it any better because of D&K Builders and the support from the community. The mayor (Maxwell Gullette) and the chamber of commerce have been very supportive.”
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Alongside its lattes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, and Americanos, Heroes Rise’s menu consists of non-coffee beverages including chai latte, craft lemonade, hot chocolate, sweet tea and adrenaline drinks. The business’ adrenaline drinks are made from fruity, caffeinated green tea, organic and natural, with all kinds of different flavors and syrups that can be mixed into them.

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Heroes Rise will also serve a complement of pastries and other baked goods.
Plans to expand
As things progress, Heroes Rise aims to serve more than pastries along with specialty coffees and other beverages. Matt noted plans to offer game-day specials with hot food, partnering with Downtown Meats in Bemidji for pulled pork sandwiches and with S&S Meats in Grand Rapids to add brats to the menu.
“We’re going to have some hot food options, too,” Matt said. “It’s a little bit harder when it’s all through a drive-thru window, but we will get it done.”
When the rest of the building rehab is completed, Heroes Rise will feature a half-door — open to a seating area, lounge and other businesses in the building. Other businesses will include a laundromat on the west end of the main floor and a video arcade on the east with Heroes Rise operating in the center.
“There will be some vending machines out here too,” Matt said. “They’re going to have some really nice arcade games. There’s a lot of work to be done before all of that can be opened. They need to get new gas lines and a bigger water main line to support the businesses, but it’s going to be really nice and they’ve worked very fast already.”
Until the rest of the building work is complete and ready to open, Heroes Rise will remain a drive-thru-only business.
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Giving back
Incorporated into its business model, Heroes Rise aims to give back to various facets of the community.
“We don’t give back through monetary donations. We give back through coffee,” Jeff said. “We roast for those who serve: law enforcement, firefighters, and EMS. To military, veterans, teachers and health workers. Our favorite thing to do is to deliver fresh hot coffee to emergency crews at the scene of a fire or other disaster, to the police station following a major incident, and always when a department loses one of its own.
“We also give back by shipping bags of our coffee all over the country and have even shipped it to different countries. That’s how we give back.”
Matt noted a goal to give out $500,000 worth of coffee by the end of 2025.
“When COVID first hit and everyone was in lockdown, we took our trailer on a tour and gave away almost $75,000 in coffee at hospitals, nursing homes, schools and anywhere essential workers were still going strong,” he added. “It’s just something we’ve always done.”
“Just last week when a major search warrant was served here in Blackduck, we came in with coffee for all of the law enforcement officers who were working on site,” Jeff left off. “It’s important to us to give back, and this is how we do it.”
For more information, follow Heroes Rise Coffee Blackduck on Facebook and Instagram.