Grand opening for new Millheim coffee shop this weekend. ‘A tremendous value to the town’
A new coffee shop opened Monday in Millheim, one the owner and borough leaders hope can be a melting pot in the close-knit rural community.
The Meandering Mallard Coffee House opened at 106 E. Main St., the former home of The Inglebean Cafe. The business is owned by Joseph Ewaskiewicz, who also owns Penns Valley Veterinary Clinic.
“It’s a tremendous value to the town and the community. A lot of folks stopping in on their commutes in a good, friendly place to have conversation,” borough Mayor Stephen Myers said. “Seems to be a like a little melting pot for the community, which has always been a really nice thing. We’re glad to have it reopening.”
Millheim Borough Council President Katie Blume said the borough is “thrilled” with the shop’s opening.
“We have really appreciated that as a gathering space, whether it’s coffee with your friends in the morning or the open mic nights that they have done as a nice, casual community gathering space,” Blume said. “... We’re always happy to see more business involvement in our community and getting people out and meeting their neighbors and also bringing in people from surrounding areas to see how wonderful Millheim is.”
About eight people are employed at the business, Assistant Manager Kathryn Fisher said.
The shop is scheduled to be open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily until March, when the hours are set to become 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. A grand opening is planned for Saturday; customers can expect a free cup of coffee, Fisher said.
“Having The Meandering Mallard — which is an awesome name — it’s great to have that in town. It gives us another place to go to for people to meet up, get together, talk about things — gossip, if you will,” borough council member Robert Zeigler said. “And also do work. They have a lot to offer there.”
He later added: “It’s a keystone of the area.”
The Inglebean sat empty for months as legal battles played out behind the scenes. Ewaskiewicz stepped in after the business was evicted.
The space, he said, “fell in my lap.”
“It was just a really good space, a place where people could come, relax, enjoy themselves and have a little bit of fun. I could see that every single day, and when the place closed it was like, ‘Wow.’ ” Ewaskiewicz said. “... I think it’s important to the fabric of the town. I went in there today and it’s warm. You can smell coffee. I could smell bacon cooking down the street. People were in there talking. That’s what I want; that place people can come. They want something to eat? That’s great. They want a scone? That’s fine. They want a cup of coffee or they just want to come and sit and talk? That’s why we’re there.”