‘A favorite barista’ at each coffeehouse

Let’s say Emmet and Mary Ruth Burke of Wilkes-Barre would like to sit down and relax, maybe with Earl Grey tea for her and hot black coffee for him.

Where should they go? Abide? Or Pour?

Not only do they enjoy the coffee and tea at both coffeehouses in downtown Wilkes-Barre, but they have a daughter working at each one.

“We try to even it out,” Mary Ruth Burke said, noting she and her husband have “a favorite barista” at both places — with their daughter Roisin working at Abide Coffeehouse, at the corner of West Market and North Franklin streets, since September and their daughter Aoife having started at Pour Coffee House, at 53 North Main St., about three weeks earlier.

If you know the owners of the respective coffeehouses at all, you know they’re not cutthroat competitors. So nobody’s warning either of the sisters about giving away trade secrets or anything like that.

Rather, the owners are all so friendly that when Abide had to close for seven weeks in 2023 while damage caused by a broken water heater was being repaired, the owners of Pour held a benefit for Abide.

“When we had the water heater break, we immediately directed our customers to go to Pour and support them,” said Dan Shission, a co-owner of Abide. “Then they had a fund-raiser for us. We’re working with each other. I wouldn’t say we’re rivals at all.”

“As small business owners, we’re used to things going wrong,” Pour co-owner Drew Long said, explaining why he and his wife, Stacy, were eager to help Abide in time of need. “We’ve always been — what’s the phrase I like? — relationships over competition.”

“There’s enough space in the Wilkes-Barre area for more than one good quality, locally owned coffee shop,” Long said. “It’s always nice to see small businesses thrive.”

As Aoife and Roisin can tell you, downtown Wilkes-Barre’s coffee and tea drinkers often frequent both places.

Roisin has noticed customers doing a double take, and asking if they’ve seen her somewhere else.

“You’ve probably seen my sister at Pour,” she tells them.

As for Aoife, if she’s visiting her sister’s workplace, or vice versa, she said people have jokingly asked “Don’t you belong in the other place?”

Their bosses, meanwhile, are pleased with the qualities both young women bring to their work.

“Oh, my gosh, she’s great,” Long said of Aoife. “She is so positive. She just brightens up the space and she’s built so many great relationships with her co-workers and customers.”

“She’s very dedicated, very hard-working, very personable with the customers and the staff,” Shission said of Roisin. “She’s an all-around perfect fit for Abide.”

Both sisters are graduates of Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre.

Roisin, 26, studied political science at Temple University and isn’t sure where her career eventually will take her. But, she said, she loves her job and the laid-back atmosphere at Abide. “I’m surprised how passionate I am about it,” she said.

Aoife, 22, prepared for a career in ministry at Lancaster Bible College and has an internship with Restore Church in addition to her job at Pour. “It’s a good balance,” she said.

If you’re looking for a good balance — perhaps a place to hang out with friends, or to catch up on some office work, or to partake of such activities as Knit and Crochet Night or Dungeons and Dragon Night, you might want to check out the coffeehouses.

And a visit to either may especially be in order if you agree with this sentiment that Abide has displayed on a little sign:

“A day without coffee is like … just kidding I have no idea.”

The post ‘A favorite barista’ at each coffeehouse appeared first on Times Leader.

Source

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Bir yanıt yazın

E-posta adresiniz yayınlanmayacak. Gerekli alanlar * ile işaretlenmişlerdir