Swatara Coffee Company, based in Jonestown, will be expanding to a second location in Annville this week.
The new coffee shop is set to open Thursday, July 16. Their hours of operation will be 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekends.
“When the situation presented itself, we were really, really excited to grow to a second store in Annville,” said Joanna Noll, who co-owns Swatara Coffee Company with her husband, John Noll, and handles the company’s communications. “We just felt like it was a really great fit.”
The Annville store will be located at 104 West Main Street in a gray stone building that some may recognize as the former site of ice cream and sandwich shop Kettering Corner, which closed in 2013.
“We love the history of places and this particular place is an anchor spot in Annville,” said Noll. “It has a really cool history, the building itself is really neat-looking and we could just envision Swatara Coffee Company being there.”
Swatara Coffee’s owners have been planning on expanding to Annville for over a year. They had tried to open their location earlier on, but that process was delayed due to supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It kind of threw us a curveball, so it’s been a little bit of a process, but we’re excited for what is going to happen next,” said Noll.
At both locations, the Swatara Coffee team has taken action to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, including putting stickers on the floor so that people stand a safe distance apart, providing sanitizer, and teaching their team members the best and safest practices in accordance with CDC guidelines.
“We think that it’s very important to be as safe as possible and to protect our team members and our community and to make sure that we’re doing things in a way that is ethical,” said Noll. “We really had to take a step back and reconfigure how we were doing things [at the Jonestown location] and then try to reimagine what’s it’s going to look like for the foreseeable future here in Annville, too.
“We want to make sure that we’re being good neighbors and doing things as safely as possible.”
Because the building in Jonestown is too small to accommodate social distancing, Swatara Coffee can only offer takeout and outdoor seating at that location. At the new location, they have the capacity to offer indoor seating, but that option will not be offered quite yet. However, there will be plenty of outside seating under the large awning in front of the building.
“We’re excited to see people out underneath our awning, sharing a cookie or a drink,” said Noll. “We’re just making sure that we have processes in place and that everybody on our team knows what they need to do and what they need to know to be safe.”
The Nolls were drawn to Annville for their second location because of the town’s history and sense of community.
“We’re really looking forward to being part of the historic downtown area and to serving all the different people that are there,” said Noll. “We love being at the heart of a town and helping to grow the community and be a place of community within a downtown area.
“Annville is beautiful and gorgeous and we feel really good about it and are very excited to become part of the Annville community.”
They will be starting out with their full menu, which is like that of their flagship location.
“We’re really excited to expand and to be able to offer the food and drink and service we do in Jonestown in Annville,” said Noll.
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Even though the business has coffee in the name, coffee is not the only thing served there. Swatara Coffee offers a variety of foods, such as breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal and parfaits for breakfast, deli sandwiches, soup and salads for lunch, baked goods, and a number of different specialty drinks, such as teas, hot chocolate, espresso drinks.
“We actually have more non-coffee drinks than coffee drinks, which people are really surprised about. A lot of times people say ‘Oh, I would come to the coffee shop but I don’t like coffee,’ and the really great thing is you don’t have to like coffee. We have tons of other things.”
Most of Swatara Coffee Company’s ingredients are locally sourced and they often partner with local businesses, including Sandi’s Breads in Palmyra, Patches Family Creamery in Lebanon and Allison Maple Farm in Ono, to name a few.
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“We love featuring local businesses and local makers, so a lot of what we have to eat and to drink comes from Lebanon County,” said Noll. “We just feel really passionate about that.
“We really try hard to focus on local community and the local economy because they have a lot to offer.”
Noll attributes Swatara Coffee Company’s success and ability to open a second location to both their staff and the community of Jonestown.
“I think [being able to expand] really comes down to our team members and to the community,” she said. “Our team members are wonderful and they work really hard and really are passionate about giving great service and wonderful food and drinks.
“And, without community support, we really couldn’t be doing what we’re doing. We’ve really felt the love and support of the community and are able to respond because they are here.”
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