Husband and wife hoping to open new coffee shop in Port Matilda. What to know

Husband and wife Salina and Ethan Swancer grew up in Port Matilda. And, while they’ve seen a number of businesses leave the area over the years, the pair is hoping to bring some new flavor to their town — in the form of a new coffee shop.

Nothing is concrete just yet and no lease has been signed, but Salina was confident enough to recently share her plans with the CDT. She and Ethan are aiming to call their new coffee shop “Swanky Beans,” and they’re hoping to open it at 100 S. High St., in the first floor of a former First National Bank that closed in 2012.

There is no timetable yet on when it might open. But Salina said work would begin as soon as the lease is signed.

“We’ve lived in Port for almost our entire lives, and there really haven’t been many new businesses that have opened here in that time, if any at all,” Salina Swancer said. “There’s Lykens, the [Port Matilda Hotel] and Brother’s Pizza, which all have amazing food, but those places have been the only options for like 30 years, and we just think that the area needs something new.”

Although plans for the shop are still being finalized, the Swancers’ idea has already generated buzz in the Port Matilda community and beyond. A Facebook post from Salina introducing Swanky Beans to the world in late October already racked up more than 400 reactions and 200 comments.

It’s not difficult to see why. Once open, Salina said Swanky Beans is planning to focus on serving coffee and espresso products — such as lattes and macchiatos — made with locally roasted beans. But it will also offer a small assortment of beverages like tea, hot chocolate and Red Bull refreshers for non-coffee lovers.

Additionally, the shop will likely serve a variety of locally baked goods, breakfast items and some paninis. And they can be picked up at the counter, or through the bank’s old drive-thru window for on-the-go customers.

The shop will also be decorated with art created by King Cobra Tattoo’s many artists — including Ethan Swancer — and the vault of the former bank will likely be turned into a Swanky Beans merchandise area that sells homemade flavored syrups, CDs from local musicians, and more.

“I have a background in bartending and mixology, and I’ve just always loved making cool drinks, syrups and all sorts of fun concoctions,” Salina Swancer said. “Then after we had kids and started a family, I really wanted to steer away from the late-night hours and thought that I could still get all the fun of mixing drinks, but with coffee instead of alcohol.”

Although no timeline has been made available for the opening of Swanky Beans, Swancer said that she ideally wants to have the shop open within six-to-eight months of finalizing the lease agreement. Once open, she’d like the shop’s hours of operation to be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed one unspecified day per week.

While the Swancers have enough money saved to invest whatever amount would be required to initially lease the property, Salina said if the lease ended up not being signed, that she and her husband would still remain committed to bringing Swanky Beans to Port Matilda.

“If someone were to offer us a location in Bellefonte, State College or wherever, we’d turn it down for Port Matilda,” Swancer said. “First, we’d look for other open buildings in or around town. Then, if we really needed to, we would purchase a trailer or cart to serve or operate in.”

Despite some plans still needing to be finalized, the hype for Port Matilda’s first coffee shop has been real among those in the area, with Swancer sharing that the test phase for a crowdfunding investment loan had broken a record for the number of donors seen in the first 12 hours.

Swanky Beans’ official crowdfunding investment loan was started on Nov. 21, with a minimum goal of $10,000 and a maximum goal of $100,000. As of Friday, Nov. 28, a total of $7,709 has been invested. According to the loan’s website, 40% of the funds would go toward equipment and inventory, and 60% would go toward the renovation of the former bank.

“I can’t go anywhere in Port without being asked about the coffee shop — people will stop me when I’m getting gas at Lykens just to ask when it’ll be open,” Swancer said. “Between that, and the success of the initial loan’s test page, the support we’ve been receiving has just been remarkable. The people of this town are really great, caring folk, and they deserve a great, new coffee shop.”

For further updates on the development of Swanky Beans, visit the coffee shop’s Facebook and Instagram pages.