Joe StephensJeremiah’s Coffee House Opens Second Location at The Stage Door on Putnam Street
Two places that, for many locals, shout Marietta the loudest are Jeremiah’s Coffee House and the Peoples Bank Theatre. Jeremiah’s is the perfect exemplar of everything Marietta wants to be: hip and cutting edge mixed in with a healthy dose of welcome and comfort. Peoples Bank Theatre is the venue that somehow brings in acts that no town the size of Marietta should ever be able to expect. Happily, with the establishment of The Stage Door right next to the theatre, an exciting opportunity has arisen for the two popular local entities to enter into a partnership that will allow theatre-goers to enjoy a taste of one of their favorite local eateries.
Jeremiah’s @ The Stage Door will open for its regular business hours on Monday, February 10 at 7:00 am with all the ambrosial hot and cold drink selections of the mother location and a pared-down menu featuring their delectable baked goods, all of which are locally-made and most of which come straight from the kitchen of Jeremiah’s. The hope is to expand to salads and other items in the near future. In addition to the regular hours of 7:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday through Friday and 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Saturdays, the new location will be open anytime there is a show at PBT for two hours before the opening curtain and an hour after the show ends.
This venture is the brainchild of Jeremiah’s co-founders, sisters Karen Henthorn and Liz Johnson, who tasked Marketing and Events Manager Jocelyn Adelsperger to work with R. Hunt Brawley, Executive Director of the Peoples Bank Theatre and the Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association, to bring the idea to life. Brawley, a long-time advocate for not just local theatre, but local enterprises in general, Henthorn and Johnson saw this as a perfect match and were willing to do whatever it took to make it happen.
We understand the hard work it takes to be a successful small business. We love this area. It is truly our hometown.
“Both Jeremiah’s Coffee House and Peoples Bank Theatre have a strong love for all things downtown Marietta. Often, when patrons leave the show, the kitchens of our delicious downtown restaurants have closed,” said Adelsperger. “We will offer a late-night snack alternative to leaving downtown for food and a social place to talk about the show.” And yes! There will be decaf, she said.
The centerpiece of the new location’s menu will be a drink made with all locally sourced ingredients. This drink came about, as is sometimes the case with good ideas, from a casual joke. One of the baristas, noting that Jeremiah’s had all the fixings for a drink from local vendors, joked that they should make a local latté. And thus, was born the appropriately named Local Latté.
The key ingredient, coffee, is roasted and ground by Stomp-N-Grounds Craft Coffees in Vienna. The sweet is provided by syrup from the Sugar Shack in New Matamoras. And the thing that makes it a latté, milk, is provided by Twin Pines Milk from Little Hocking. Adelsperger observed that one of the things that makes the drink unique is that the froth from the milk is extra foamy because the wonderful folks at Twin Pines pasteurize the milk, but they don’t homogenize it, which means that, just like in the days before supermarkets and factory farms, their milk requires a good shake, as the cream literally rises to the top.
“Most of us here at the shop were born into working family farms or family businesses. We understand the hard work it takes to be a successful small business. We love this area. It is truly our hometown,” said Adelsperger. “We want to see as many local businesses and hometown people succeed as possible. Plus, Have you tried the Local Latte? It is amazing – and all locally sourced thanks to the hard work of small businesses and farms just like us!”
The unique hometown service and appeal of Jeremiah’s should be the perfect complement.
In addition to serving patrons of the headlining shows, Jeremiah’s @ The Stage Door will be open for events in the smaller venue of The Stage Door, where more intimate musical and spoken-word presentations will take place. “We are excited to have Jeremiah’s join us as we want to expand the service and also activities at The Stage Door space,” said Brawley. “Even though people are showing up for major entertainment, we would also like to be more of a neighborhood destination.
For example, while the official opening won’t be until the tenth, participants in Todd Burge’s Song Colony on Wednesday, February 5, will find Jeremiah’s open for business. They will also be open Thursday night when the Russian Ballet performs at the Theatre. “The unique hometown service and appeal of Jeremiah’s should be the perfect complement to pre and post-show activity, smaller acts, local performers, and educational programs like Song Colony in The Stage Door,” Brawley said.
With the imminent appearance of a big-name corporate coffee purveyor, something that is on the minds of local vendors, it is more vital than ever for the community to band together to support local shops such as Jeremiah’s. Add to this that said big-name company will in no way support local entities, such as the Peoples Bank Theatre, Stomp-N-Grounds Craft Coffees, the Sugar Shack, and Twin Pines Milk, and throwing our disposable income toward them seems all the more foolhardy. Shopping local in this case doesn’t just help one business—it benefits us all.