By AnnaBelle Boone / The Jambar
Located on 4491 Mahoning Ave. in Austintown, Cafe Rose is a specialty coffee retail and gift shop. Local vendors can rent out a shelf for twenty dollars per month. They sell goods such as handmade cookies, candles or fidget toys.
There is also a wide variety of local coffee blends, including those from all over the state. Some are from as far south as Dayton, while others are more local, from Salem and Cleveland. They also have some teas and decaf blends.
Leah Sakas started the business with her long-time friend, Amanda Evans. They are both Austintown natives who graduated from Youngstown State University.
“We’re coffee lovers, and we would always do like little road trips here and there,” Sakas said. “And on these road trips, we kind of started talking about this idea if we had our own coffee shop … and that’s how the idea started.”
The store’s name comes from the products it offers — coffee and nonalcoholic wine.
“It was just kind of something that came together over time…at first it wasn’t serious, but then as we just kept talking about it, we were like ‘No, we should, this is something we should do,’” Sakas said. “We’re very fortunate in this community. There are a lot of entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs, who support one another.”
The shop is open from 9 a.m .- 2 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, then noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The shop will be closed for Thanksgiving, from Nov. 28 – Dec. 1.
“There is no handbook on how to start a business. It’s been a lot of learning on the fly and trial and error. You have to be adaptable and figure out what doesn’t work,” Sakas said.
The coffee shop opened in 2020, which led to some difficulty, Sakas said. However, she said they were able to rely on other local companies and sellers for support.
“When we first started, we were in a [difficult] position because we filed with the state in 2020, which, terrible, but we were like, ‘Well, at least we’ll get the paperwork side of it done, and everything,’” Sakas said . “So we met with Ben [Ratner] from LiB’s in Salem. We had sort of that wide-eyed deers in the headlights look to us, and he kind of mentored us.”
LiB’s Market Cafe and Roastery is a local coffee brand that serves its house blend and different premium roasts at Cafe Rose.
In two years of being open, Sakas said they’ve acquired 13 coffee roasters throughout the state, along with other local vendors.
“We’ve recently brought in local artisans and bakers, as well. They rent a shelf from us, and then get 100% of their sales. So they help us out and it helps them out. It’s kind of a win-win as well,” Sakas said.
Sakas said one effort they wanted to initiate is hosting community events, both to attract customers and to create a community space.
“We added a Halloween market. We did trivia, craft nights and paint and sips. We’re going to have one in December, like a cookie decorating class with one of our vendors,” Sakas said.
They also have a monthly book club that meets the first Saturday of every month. The next book, for the Dec. 7 meeting, is “Malice” by Heather Walter.
Other events to be held in December include “Harry Potter” trivia Dec. 7, and a Sip n’ Decorate and a crochet and knitting circle Dec. 14.
