New coffee shop brewing in CF
Steve Sonsini knows the importance of first impressions. And he knows the first impression he wants people to experience when they enter his soon-to-open Chadds Ford Coffee House: “Come in and smell the coffee,” he said.
The Chadds Ford Coffee House isn’t open yet, but Sonsini and his wife Jackie are hoping to open in early April. They’re still renovating the interior of the old First Keystone Bank/Bryn Mawr Trust in the little shopping center with the U.S. Post Office on Route 1 in the Village of Chadds Ford.
It’s an interesting step for the couple since they each have work backgrounds as physical therapists. Jackie Sonsini is still in the field and won’t leave until the coffee shop opens. As for Steve Sonsini, he spent 28 years as a physical therapist and didn’t even like coffee until he turned 30 years old. Now, their livelihood will center on the little bean that so many people love.
Plans call for Chadds Ford Coffee House to be open seven days per week, from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays. There’s seating for 34.
In addition to a variety of coffees and teas, they will also have baked goods, some made in-house, and others brought in. They’re in negotiation with Oso Sweet Bakery in the Barn Shoppes to provide scones.
It’s too soon for the Sonsinis to go into what their specialty might be — they’re just getting the various coffee machines in and they still have furniture to put together — but they are planning to have seasonal specials and will make their own syrups for lattes and cappuccinos. There will also be nitro coffees and teas, nitrogen-infused cold brews that are frothy and effervescent with a frothy head.
They live in New Jersey but nothing there had “the right vibe,” Steve Sonsini said. Chadds Ford and the old bank location do have the right vibe.
“There was no place there that had the right ambiance or character. They were all cookie-cutter type stuff,” he said. “When we saw this spot [the old bank] I peeked in and said, ‘This is it.’”
Jackie Sonsini added, “We’re not just about the coffee. We’re about the experience, and we want people to feel good when they come in and walk out feeling good.”
She continued saying, “We want people to know that the coffee is excellent and that the atmosphere is just as awesome.”
There’s more to the story, but the Sonsinis will tell more once the shop is open and people can walk in and “smell the coffee.”
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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