In the north end of Ferndale lies The Corner Shop, owned and operated by Mathew Abraham.
Focusing on never being just one thing, they perform as a coffee shop, wine bar and bookstore.
Abraham wanted a name that stood out.
“The name is inspired by a band from the 90s and also our Indian heritage. It is a little bit of
everything for everybody. We are a more neighborhood hangout and family-friendly,” said
Abraham.
The Corner Shop had its grand opening in April 2026. Starting the business, Abraham was
inspired by his travels. He found a need that was missing in his area. The diverse community in
Royal Oak and Ferndale is what sealed the deal on the location of The Corner Shop.
“We try not to do any business where it is so defined where we are only targeting one audience,
so that makes it a lot easier for any age group or price to spend, we have something for
everybody,” said Abraham.
It is, first and foremost, a place to hang out, with a large selection of natural wines as well as a
cocktail menu. They host wine tastings at least once a month, along with book readings. The
space functions as a spot for book clubs as well. Their upcoming book club will have a book vs.
movie concept. They are planning on hosting more events now that they are settled into their
space.
“Businesses always evolve. So you always want to change and adjust to your customers without
losing your identity and ideas, and also without being too trendy. We are changing wines almost
every two weeks. We have the reds, whites, oranges, but we change within the categories that we
are serving,” said Abraham.
The cocktails also have an Indian influence, with hints of poblano peppers, cilantro, mango lassi
and coconut. The wine is sourced from small wineries in Michigan and small vendor biodynamic
natural wines. The wine tasting includes four or five wines, serving flavors people would not
normally get a chance to try. Their last wine tasting was wines all from along the coast of Spain.
“It was like a road trip up and down Spain, it was a cool idea to kind of see how wines taste
closer to the coast and how different they taste as it gets to the mountains,” said Abraham, “What
you see here is not found at grocery stores, it is small boutique wineries we are buying from.”
Abraham graduated from Ohio State. His first business was a barber shop and then he opened his
home goods store, Rail and Anchor in downtown Royal Oak. At Rail and Anchor, they sell
everything from plants, greeting cards, cups, pop culture items, dog toys, perfumes and
cookbooks. They have been open for 13 years.
“We hope it is something different for each person. Someone can do some work, or meet their
friends or get lost in a book,” said Abraham, “People like that you can still shop local, and your money is going back into the city that you live in. So there is a customer service that online can't give you.”
Onyx Coffee Labs coffee beans are used for the espresso drinks at The Corner Shop, and Indian
coffee beans for drip coffee. The drip coffee is always changing. Mocktails are also available and
their coffee shop is open late, right up until they close at 10 p.m.
In the cafe they serve pastries made by two local bakeries. On the bar side, there is a snack menu
in the evenings that is all made in-house. They offer charcuterie boards, olives, chips and dip,
toasted cashews, tin fish and ever-changing specials. For dessert, Abraham recommends the
ginger ice cream, made with ginger puree.
Abraham said, “We try to have things that are unique and also a little bit of our Indian heritage
into the food without screaming that it is an Indian restaurant. We play off things, we have salted
butter jaggery syrup instead of a regular brown sugar syrup, which is an Indian brown sugar. We
have cardamom and rose syrup, so stuff like that where it is a little bit different.”
The most popular drink orders are a rose vanilla latte and the salted butter jaggery latte. The
Corner Shop acts as a community hub where people can grasp the concept. It is a place where
everybody feels comfortable to read a book, drink a coffee with a friend or find a new wine to
enjoy with their partner.
Abraham said, “I would call ourselves a third space. The neighborhood has embraced us, we
learn people’s names and drinks. We really get to know our close neighbors.”
Coffee, Cocktails, & Conversations
The Corner Shop is where great coffee, crafted cocktails, and thoughtful conversation meet; your new neighborhood spot to gather, unwind, and linger. Offering coffee and pastries in the morning, books and wine in the afternoon and cocktails and snacks in the evening.
Located at: 23337 Woodward Ave Ferndale, MI 48220.
COFFEE
Monday- Saturday-
7 AM - 10 PM
Sunday- 8 AM-8 PM
BOOKS & WINE
Monday- Saturday -
11 AM - 10 PM
Sunday- 11 AM-8 PM
COCKTAILS & SNACKS
Monday- Saturday-
3 PM-10 PM
Sunday- 3 PM-8 PM