A new coffee shop is now open in North Buffalo and it’s much more than just a place to get your daily cup of joe.

With an emphasis on everything being locally sourced — from coffee beans and displays of artwork — JAM Parkside wants the business to represent Buffalo.

"We get our dairy, our pastries, our bread as much as we can from local businesses because it's so important to support local businesses,” said Co-Owner Amber Small.

That’s not the only thing that makes it unique; it’s the business model. The coffee shop is community owned through investors and it’s one of the few businesses in the whole state of New York to operate this way.

"Jam has 100 investors from all across the New York state area,” said Small. “We have community members who come in every day and they really are the base of our customer base and we are really glad that not only do we have people who are invested as investors but as customers enjoying the product."

It’s a benefit corporation too — meaning, their mission is to give back.

"We wanted something that was going to give back. A lot of businesses say they will but being a benefit corporation really holds us to this standard,” said Small. “We’ll be doing neighborhood cleanups and we would like to do a signature project every year and it will based on what investors want to see."

A two-year project in the making, they're excited it's finally open.

"It's been a long process, but a really exciting process and we are so excited to finally open and for customers to really enjoy what we have to offer here."

Any resident in the state of New York can invest. If you are interested, visit this website.