Stone Fruit Coffee Opens New Store Near YSU

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Stone Fruit Coffee Co.’s doors were open mere minutes before the rush hit.

“This is spectacular,” observes owner Josh Langenheim. “I’m really proud to be back in Youngstown and on YSU’s campus. This is my alma mater so it’s really full circle.”

The company opened its second store Monday just off the campus of Youngstown State University as students, faculty and staff filed in for a hot beverage on a very cold November morning.

Langenheim wanted to bring his company to Youngstown, he said, and spent three months renovating space directly behind the Jimmy John’s sandwich shop on Lincoln Avenue.

“We tore this place all the way down to the studs,” he said. The new café is adorned with large-plank wood paneling, giving patrons the feel of a cabin as they enjoy what the business does best – make coffee. A long U-shaped coffee bar allows for ample seating in the new bistro.

“We’re everything coffee,” Langenheim said. “We roast it, we grind it, we brew it and we drink it.”

Stone Fruit Coffee Co. was established in 2013 and operates a roasting and coffee shop at 8414 Market St. in Boardman. All of the beans are roasted at the Boardman store where some 30 varieties of coffee are brewed.

“The Boardman location is doing really well because of the hospital,” he says, referring to St. Elizabeth Boardman campus across the street. Langenheim is keeping his fingers crossed that the university would provide the same sort of draw to his business.

“This is kind of my stomping grounds and I really wanted to bring it to Youngstown and support my community,” he said. “We want to give people a good quality product every time. So, hopefully by doing that we can still keep attracting everybody. So far, so good.”

Hakeem Bilal, a professor of trombone at YSU’s Dana School of Music, stopped in yesterday because he’d heard positive comments about the Boardman café.

“It’s great to have a good coffee shop,” he said. “This isn’t just a coffee spot, but a good hangout spot where you can sit down. I think it will do well.”

The coffee company employs eight at its store on Lincoln Avenue, and Langenheim said he is preparing to expand into other markets, including Columbiana County.

“We should have an announcement in a couple of weeks,” he said.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.