The Fairfax Girl Team 
Arlington’s newest coffee shop is a space for the community to gather, and even maybe stir up a bit of good trouble. Good Trouble Coffee, located at 3800 Langston Boulevard, is designed to have great coffee + food, and to be a third space for people to gather and create community. The Fairfax Girl got an early look at the space (and its amazing artwork), and learned more about the business from founder Mike Grenier. Read on to learn more about Good Trouble Coffee, a new coffee shop in Arlington, Virginia.
The Story Behind Good Trouble Coffee
As part of a military family, Mike Greiner spent years moving around the country with his wife, who retired in 2026 as a colonel in the Air Force. The couple first lived in Northern Virginia from 2017 to 2021, and although they relocated to Boston for two years, they knew Arlington was where they wanted to settle down. “We really found our home here,” Mike told The Fairfax Girl. “We found an amazing neighborhood. We found our community.”
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Mike is originally from New Mexico and has run a salsa business called Black Market Salsa since 2008, and when the family settled permanently in Arlington in 2023, he knew he wanted to open a brick-and-mortar business of some kind. He was inspired by the closure of longtime Columbia Pike coffee shop Rappahannock Coffee and the desire to create something truly local. Mike was already familiar with entrepreneurship. He also completed Boots to Business, a program that helps transitioning military members and their spouses learn about starting and operating businesses. Eventually, his idea took the form of a coffee shop with locally roasted beans.
What’s on the Menu
Good Trouble Coffee focuses on quality ingredients, straightforward preparation, + locally sourced food. For Mike, the philosophy behind a great cup of coffee is similar to the approach he’s taken with Black Market Salsa: start with excellent ingredients and do the simple things well. To get things started, Mike is working with Annandale’s Beanetics Roasters to provide the beans. “I picked out the beans, I picked out the roasting level,” he said. “It was a lot of taste-testing.” Eventually, Mike plans to roast the shop’s beans in-house.
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Other local businesses are part of the cafe’s model. Good Trouble Coffee serves three sandwiches from The Italian Store, including two meat options and one vegetarian option. The shop also carries pastries, bagels, muffins, + turnovers from Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, another longtime Arlington favorite. Visitors can also find sodas, snacks, + other grab-and-go items, making the shop an option for customers who aren’t necessarily looking for coffee. “Some of the kids come by after school to get snacks,” Mike said. And naturally, Mike’s Black Market Salsa is available for purchase at the shop, too.
A Neighborhood Gathering Place
While Good Trouble Coffee serves plenty of options for customers on the go, Mike’s vision goes beyond the typical coffee shop experience. He wants the business to become a third space, somewhere people can gather, work, socialize, or simply spend time outside of home and work. “Good Trouble Coffee is about community,” Mike said. “That’s my whole purpose. Whatever form my brick-and-mortar took, I wanted it to serve the community.”
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Customers are welcome to bring their laptops, meet up with friends, or settle in with a cup of coffee. “I want people to be here,” Mike said. The goal is to create a comfortable, interesting space where neighbors actually want to spend time. An unexpected outcome of opening the business in Cherrydale is that Mike has become a student of Arlington history. Mike has also been getting to know the surrounding community through the Cherrydale and Maywood civic associations, both of which have welcomed him to speak at their meetings. “There’s so much history here,” he said. “It’s been really special to learn about it all, and how some important moments of the civil rights movement happened here in Cherrydale.” And yes, the name ‘Good Trouble’ is in reference to civil rights activist John Lewis.
The art on the walls is made by a friend of Mike’s from New Mexico, who also made the ceramic mugs and dishes used in the shop. Eventually, Good Trouble will serve beer and wine, meaning there’s a whole world of other gatherings to consider.
Before You Go
One detail Mike especially wants customers to know: Good Trouble Coffee has free, covered parking in the back. While street parking along Langston Boulevard may be limited, visitors can access the rear retail parking area from either Oakland Street or Pollard Street. The shop also has a rear entrance, making it easy to get inside directly from the parking area.
Good Trouble Coffee is located at 3800 Langston Boulevard Unit B, Arlington, and is open seven days a week from 7AM to 8PM.
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