Penns Valley community members unite to revive local coffee shop. Here’s what’s next

When The IngleBean Café closed in Millheim, it left a void in the community — a void that local vet Joseph Ewaskiewicz, along with former IngleBean Café employees Kim Greeley and Kathryn Fischer, have decided to fill.

In 2003, Ewaskiewicz opened Penns Valley Veterinary Clinic in Millheim, before moving to his current spot at 104 E. Main St. in 2011. Shortly after, The IngleBean Café opened right next door. Due to the close proximity, over the years, Ewaskiewicz grew to know Greeley and Fischer. Then, after The IngleBean Café closed, Ewaskiewicz said it just so happened that the three got together and realized that, combined, they could ensure the café’s space remained a community hub and local source of employment.

“I provided a lot of the financial backing, but they had the menu and they knew what equipment we needed,” Ewaskiewicz said. “This is a three-legged stool and the legs are me, (Greeley and Fischer). If you take one of us away, the stool doesn’t work anymore. It’s a cooperative effort … (Greeley and Fischer) wanted to run a coffee house. They’re really good at it. They’re really good at customer service and they’re excellent cooks.”

The trio came to an agreement with the space’s landlord in December and, by the end of January, opened the new Meandering Mallard Coffee House — named for the quite literal meandering mallards that call Millheim home.

“There are probably as many ducks as there are people,” Ewaskiewicz laughed. “They’re everywhere.” One day, Ewaskiewicz said, as he was pondering what to name the new café, a man drove by his home and noticed the ducks in Ewaskiewicz’s yard and, after the man stopped and commented on them, inspiration struck and the café’s new name was decided.

But bringing The Meandering Mallard Coffee House to life was no easy task. Opening a coffee house required a learning curve for the long-time vet, as Ewaskiewicz ran into equipment issues and refitting the space with everything needed to open the business, causing no shortage of sleepless nights. However, the challenges were worth it.

“The first day we opened, we held our breaths,” Ewaskiewicz said. “But then we saw people coming back. People were happy. You can smell baked goods baking in the street here again and you go in and people are talking. It’s a place for human interaction. Seeing that every day, it really makes a difference … There were points where I was at my wits’ end, but all of it was worth it to go in and see people happy and enjoying themselves.”

Today, visitors to The Meandering Mallard Coffee House will find a menu filled with “dialed back” and “simple” classics, like egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches and The Mallard, a lunchtime signature sandwich stacked with turkey, ham, bacon, provolone, lettuce, pickled onions and pesto mayo. In addition to coffee beverages and breakfast and lunch offerings, the café also prepares fresh baked goods, in-house, daily.

“Everyone’s been very happy,” Ewaskiewicz said. “I can’t have enough gratitude for the response that we’ve gotten from the community. People wanted the coffee shop to come back. They liked going to meet a friend and have a cup of coffee or to get lunch. There’s WiFi. They might not even get a drink, but it reopens a space that so many people liked. ... Now the patio’s open, too, to give us some extra seating and it’s a beautiful place.”

Ewaskiewicz also plans to bring back some of the events that were regularly hosted at the cafe, starting with Saturday morning farmers markets on the café patio in May. He plans to grow the café’s offerings slowly, though, ensuring the small team gets the basics down first, before expanding to other events like open mic nights or dinner service.

The Meandering Mallard Coffee House is located at 106 E. Main St. in Millheim and is open daily, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.meanderingmallard.com.