Specialty coffeehouse to open Thursday on historic downtown corner

YOUNGSTOWN

Mitch Lynch was one of the few people working downtown this Christmas Day, but for him, it wasn’t the same old grind.

Lynch, who with his wife, Patricia Tinkler, owns the Friends Roastery coffeehouse in Salem, was getting ready for something new — Friends Specialty, their new Youngstown location.

It has taken them eight months to get this far, from the time they began renovations inside the vintage building on the corner of Federal and Phelps streets until Thursday, when they were expected to open their doors for the first time at 7 a.m.

So Lynch had left his Christmas celebration early to work on a few finishing touches.

“I still have things to do,” he said, adding that even though he’s not quite finished, the shop is ready for its opening.

It will feature specialty coffees, teas and chocolate, with pastry offerings such as cinnamon buns, lemon buns and ham-and-cheese puffs.

Cookies will include chocolate chip, peanut butter and a classic biscotti, he said, and he’ll make blueberry muffins “with just a touch of corn.”

On Saturdays, he said, he might put out a baguette. There’s wi-fi, of course, he said.

Read more about the business and the couple's business history in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.New