The phone rang on New Year’s Eve.
“Is today a good day to be a dad?”
Shawn and Cher Jay Heath-Lee didn’t hesitate. They said yes.
That yes changed everything—just like every yes before it, and every yes that would follow. Yes to love. Yes to parenting. Yes to dogs, to community, to creating something that didn’t yet exist but deeply needed to: a space where people could feel warmth, comfort, and belonging.
Today, they’re the proud owners of Coffee & Bark in Berkley, Michigan—a joyful, dog-friendly café where coffee, connection, and compassion come together. But it all started with that phone call.
Shawn and Cher Jay have been a couple for 22 years, and married for eight of them. Five years ago, they began their adoption journey. After choosing an agency in Southfield that aligned with their values, they started the long process—fingerprinting, home studies, waiting.
Two years passed. Then came the call.
“We were nervous, stunned, totally unprepared,” Cher Jay recalls. “But we said yes.”
They had been matched.
Their son Aiden was born prematurely on January 2. While he was in the NICU, Shawn and Cher Jay showed up—every day, every night. They took shifts for 14 straight days, one arriving in the morning, the other staying into the evening.
“We camped out. Even if he was sleeping, we were there,” Cher Jay says. “I worked from the hospital, took meetings in conference rooms. We wanted him to feel it—that we were there, that he wasn’t alone.”
When the day came to bring him home, excitement gave way to new-parent nerves.
“I remember thinking, ‘Do we take him out of the car seat? Do we leave him in it? What do we do?’” Shawn says.
“We just looked at each other like, ‘Okay. This is real,’” Cher Jay adds.
Today, Aiden is three—bright, curious, and funny. The kind of kid who keeps his dads laughing and on their toes.
“He’s great at math—at three!” Cher Jay laughs. “He throws out math problems, and I’m like, ‘Is that right?’ And…it is.”
Now, they’re in the waiting process again, ready to welcome a second child—this time with hard-earned wisdom and softer shoulders.
“I was paranoid the first time—I didn’t sleep,” Shawn says. “My eyes were so dry I had to go to the eye doctor. He said, ‘Your problem is you need to close them.’ But I’ve learned to relax.”
Somewhere in that same season of life, another yes was taking shape.
Shawn had spent two decades in the coffee world, working his way up from barista to regional trainer. Cher Jay brought years of experience in marketing and branding. Together, they dreamed of building something intentional—something that felt like a third home. A place filled with meaning, joy, and heart.
That dream became Coffee & Bark.
“We were intentional about everything,” Cher Jay says. “Every little thing has a purpose.”
That includes The Q and The Zo—their private office and coworking spaces named after their beloved dogs, Q-Tip and Zoey.
Q-Tip, Cher Jay’s pick, was a neat, hypoallergenic lapdog. Zoey, Shawn’s, was a massive, furry Saint Bernard with an even bigger heart.
“I’ve always loved dogs—I just didn’t know much about different breeds,” Cher Jay admits. “I had no idea what came with a Saint Bernard. But I learned fast how much they shed… and drool. Still, her love and energy filled every room. And quickly—she filled my heart, too.”
When both dogs passed, within a year of Aiden’s birth, the grief was heavy. But their presence never left.
Their legacy lives on—not just in framed photos on the wall, but in the naming of the spaces in their shop.
“We wanted to honor Q-Tip and Zoey in a real way,” Cher Jay says. “By making them part of the space, they’re always here. I never want them to be forgotten.”
The shop’s most unique feature might be the BarkEasy—Michigan’s first fully indoor, dog-friendly café zone within a traditional coffee shop. Bringing the vision to life took seven months of thoughtful planning and collaboration with the health department to ensure everything met the highest standards of safety and sanitation.
The result? A cozy, clean, carefully sectioned space where guests can enjoy lattes while their dogs nap at their feet—without compromising food safety or sanitation.
Inspired by the idea of a speakeasy, the BarkEasy features its own private entrance through the back, offering a tucked-away experience for dog lovers. It includes its own restroom, complimentary waste bags, and built-in carabiners along the wall so guests can easily secure their pup’s leash while they sip and stay. Every detail was designed to make the space as welcoming, functional, and comfortable as possible—for both dogs and their humans.
Coffee & Bark has grown into much more than a café. It’s a coworking hub, an event space, a gathering place. And it’s become known for its creative drink menu, too.
“We wanted to create signature drinks you won’t find anywhere else,” Shawn says.
One standout? The Dreamy Bean, a lavender and vanilla latte topped with lemon cold foam—and now their second-best seller.
“People DM us and say, ‘I don’t know what this is, but it changed my whole day,’” Cher Jay says.
Customers have come from as far as Grand Rapids and even New York—just to visit the little café in Berkley where dogs are welcome and people smile.
“Coffee makes people happy. Dogs make people happy. Put them together? You’re twice as happy,” Shawn says.
“We knew people needed more than coffee,” Shawn adds. “They needed comfort.”
They’ve seen it happen: guests walk in carrying the weight of the day. Then their dog settles, their drink arrives, and something softens.
“I think it’s the vibe we’ve created and the offerings people really appreciate—a cozy, inclusive space for all to enjoy. Individuals, students, families, entrepreneurs,” Cher Jay says. “People walk in, see the space, experience the service, our authenticity, the flavors—everything. And they just go, ‘Oh.’ Like they exhale.”
“There’s something about being able to sit with a dog and a warm drink,” Shawn adds. “It slows everything down.”
At the time of this writing, Shawn and Cher Jay are preparing to open their second location in Hazel Park—while parenting a toddler, preparing for another child, and still saying yes.
Because saying yes—again and again—is what made all of this possible.
“If you told us five years ago this would be our life, I don’t think we would’ve believed you,” Shawn reflects. “But now? It feels exactly right.”
Coffee & Bark is located at 2733 Coolidge in Berkley. For more information, visit coffeeandbarkmi.com
Coffee makes people happy. Dogs make people happy. Put them together? You’re twice as happy.
There’s something about sitting with a dog and a warm drink. It slows everything down.