Higher Grounds Coffee House & Bakery

Very nice new coffee house. This is a local owned upstart. At this point the selection is somewhat limited, but they have a brew of the day and several pour overs to choose from (three at this writing). Breakfast items are limited to one hot sandwich and some bakery items for breakfast, and around four sandwich selections for lunch. They have juices as well. They get their coffee from a local roster, and have a special blend called the higher ground blend made for them. It’s sometimes the brew of the day, but can be ordered as a pour over. The folks here are Very friendly. This is certainly one of those places you want to come try and support. Not enough of these local coffee houses around any more.

I love having this place around the corner from my house! The coffee is fantastic, the pastries are delicious, and the service is way above & beyond. The lounge area in the back is a great touch. I wish more people knew about it!

Mom and I just came from this cute little café. I ordered a specialty coffee drink with white chocolate and a sausage, egg, cheese croissant. The coffee was great and although my sandwich was incorrect when it first came out, the mistake was quickly rectified. I’m definitely going to try and frequent this place more often :-)

I was Unilocaling in Suwanee for a coffee shop and came across this one. I was surprised to find where my GPS ended up taking me, but excited at the new option of a good-​quality coffee shop near my house in Lawrenceville. They were actually closed today, but the owner was really nice and still brewed me an amazing cup of coffee and told me all about this place. They may end up staying open on Mondays, but for now they are technically closed on Mondays. It looks like Higher Grounds just opened less than 6 months ago in a new shopping plaza close to the math & science school in Gwinnett and close to Sugarloaf Starbucks. It is easy to get to from the 316 exit and it’s also right next to Georgia Gwinnett College and Gwinnett Tech.
The quality coffee here is high and the coffee shop offers many different pour over options and different coffees. The one I tried today was a Columbian coffee. That is what they use for their espressos. However, they also have Mexican and Ethiopian blends. The roaster they get their beans from is local in Winder so they are able to get higher quality beans than most corporate places. They also have game nights and live music nights on Friday and Saturday so the community-​feel here is awesome and seems like a great place to connect with others. They have a room in the back of the venue that they are able to have events.
They also have baked goods and sandwiches, but I haven’t tried any of their food yet. The owner is really friendly and easy to talk to.
I’m definitely looking forward to trying this place again.

Great independently owned store. I’ve been to Higher Grounds a couple of times and on the most recent trip today, I got a brownie and a regular coffee.
The nitty gritty: I ordered a chocolate brownie with fudge icing… loved the crispiness of the layer just under the icing, which went very well with my coffee (of which you can buy ground/​beans and brew it at home). The price of both the brownie and regular coffee were right around 4 bucks.
I went during a Tuesday right around noon and it was pretty quiet… well, that is to say, there weren’t many customers… nice jazz filled the air. In the past I have seen several people sitting at tables, studying, etc.
While waiting, I had a nice conversation with one of the owners about different local parks, sports, and of course, the most important decision… regular brownie, truffle brownie or red velvet cake. Considering the truffle brownies were out and the red velvet cake slice was really big, the brownie won out.
I’m telling this story because I wasn’t treated like just a walking wallet, and that’s what I really enjoy about Higher grounds so far… they’re just good people who want to serve and get to know their community.
There’s a loyalty program where if you spend more than $ 4 you get a star, and when you get a certain number of them (I think 5), you get a discount on your next purchase. You don’t have to keep up with punch cards or keychains… it just keeps up with your purchases
I’ve only tried their desserts, so next time i’ll have to update my review when I try their breakfast.

This place deserves more attention. Great breakfast around the corner from Chick Fil A and the other major chains for about the same price but in a more relaxing environment? Lawrenceville needs more local businesses like this.
We got the bacon egg and cheese croissant and the banana-​Nutella panini. Both were fresh and delicious and included a beverage.
There’s regular movie nights and live music. You would wonder how if you didn’t know there’s a larger lounge area behind the main front counter/​dining area. This would be a great place to hang out with friends on a weekend night. They have a menu of desserts and coffee/​tea drinks.
The owner is eager to please and doing it right. I highly recommend trying this place ASAP!

Walk in and you feel like family. The owners make bakery goods and sandwiches so well, you’d think you were in my grandmother’s kitchen offering up items made with love and perfection.
The coffee is superb, prepared just the way you like it. You won’t find a place this unique outside the perimeter. Go once and you’ll be hooked!

«If your reviews are looking like essays, start a blog. I can’t read your life story on my phone before ordering from the menu.»
[Time & Date of visit]: Saturday evening of gran opening
[Location/​Ambiance]: This is a brand new mom and pop kind of coffee shop that just recently opened up on the off road of the busy sugarloaf road in a fairly quiet due to hidden. The plaza it self is fairly large with plenty of parking in the back if the front lot should ever get filled. Inside, there are a few tables in the front and depending on what management decides to do with the back room, could provide additional seating. Adjacent to the order counter is a fridge with various cold beverages and desserts. Also for sale are various dry snacks. Drink selections and prices are listed on the two chalkboards hanging to the back of the counter area.
The layout is a little weird, as it’s almost «S» shaped, from the back room, where their kitchen is also located at, to the short hallway, then to the order counter and the front seating area. I hope that they decide to either have work done to where their is an opening «window» for the wall in the back of the order counter to help with food orders. If they could have a redo on construction, I think having the kitchen being parallel right behind the ordering station would help their flow.
[Service]: It’s the hustle and bustle of grand opening, who really comes into a non-​franchise establishment and expects perfection? Though it seems people were supporting their grand opening all came at once, it did seem to hit them with a rush trying to get orders taken care of. But steadily handling it.
[Food Highlights]:
Chai Latte — I was only able to try this drink, and would have to admit that their version is pretty dam good. I’m not a avid coffee drinker so I can’t comment on how their house brew is or other varieties.
{Summary}: Support local business and give them a try. There isn’t a drive through window, but at least it’s not on the busy road of sugarloaf where you have to make defensive driving actions to just get into the shopping strip.