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Stone Fruit Coffee Co. unveils remodeled Boardman location
BOARDMAN
Everything coffee. That’s what Stone Fruit Coffee Co. – formerly located in Canfield and recently relocated to 8414 Market St. – is all about.
“We source it. We roast it. We grind it. We brew it. We drink it. We love it,” said owner Joshua Langenheim.
He got started in the coffee business by chance, when several years ago he started roasting his own coffee beans.
“This whole thing is a hobby that’s gone wildly out of control,” he joked.
It was with the goal of bringing a longtime vision to life that Langenheim recently moved Stone Fruit to a two-room shop tucked into a plaza across from St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital. The business just completed renovations to its espresso bar and roastery.
The new location features rich, cozy earth tones arranged in a smooth, laid-back style. Wooden floors and walls wrap around armchairs, high-rise tables perfect for setting up with a laptop, and the flickering glow of a faux fireplace.
Also prominently displayed are Stone Fruit’s state-of-the-art roasting and brewing equipment.
The coffee-centric aesthetics are what Langenheim has long imagined for the business.
“It’s all about the presentation,” he said. “This is about the coffee, but it’s also about the atmosphere.”
It’s important to the Stone Fruit team that customers leave the shop not only with a great cup of coffee, but deeper knowledge of the coffee-making process.
Here’s how it works: Stone Fruit sources raw coffee beans from around the world. Canvas bags full of beans are on display in the roastery, where employees roast the beans in one of its two machines.
“Then we have a 24- to 48-hour cool time,” Langenheim explained. “Then it gets transferred from the roastery to the cafe ... where it’s then prepared to your liking.”
While beverages are listed on a black chalkboard behind the espresso bar, it’s more of a blueprint than a menu.
“There is no beverage that we can’t make,” Langenheim said, adding that the baristas try to cater to the likes of each customer.
They aim to satisfy each and every customer, without coming across as coffee snobs.
“We’re very third wave. We’re very progressive. We’re very into the science of coffee. But we’re not into being pretentious,” Langenheim said.
What they are into, though, is representing Youngstown.
“I’m a local guy, doing local things,” said Langenheim, a Boardman High School and Youngstown State University graduate. “Everything is local-related.”
The shop, for example, sells merchandise from other local businesses, and features brews with Youngstown themes: there’s the “Steel City” roast, for example, and the “Idora Perk.” Customers also can purchase Stone Fruit coffee to make at home.
The business reports solid sales since it first opened in the township in March, and hopes to expand its customer base.
Langenheim is confident they can do that.
“If I get you in once, and you let us show you what good coffee tastes like, it’s hard to go back (to regular coffee),” he said.
For more information, check out the “Stone Fruit Coffee Company” Facebook page.