Coffee House’s first anniversary

By Stuart Hedstrom

Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — For over a year the Center Coffee House has been has been serving the business namesake and other beverages and tasty treats in downtown Dover-Foxcroft, adjacent to the Center Theatre on East Main Street.

“We have been in business one year, it was a great year,” owner Lori Sharrow said, with the Center Coffee House opening its doors on Oct. 6, 2014. “We are known for our coffee, it’s what we do and want to do better than anything else.”

Photo courtesy of Brenda Schultz

A YEAR IN DOWNTOWN DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Center Coffee House, located next to the Center Theatre on East Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, reached a year in business earlier this month. The coffee house is owned by Lori Sharrow, and the staff includes Elisa Schine and Nina Rohdin.

In addition to Sharrow, the Center Coffee House includes Elisa Schine, who opens, and Nina Rohdin, who is there in the afternoon. “Our staff has been pretty consistent,” Sharrow said.

She said next month Rohdin will be attending a barista school at Coffee Lab International in Waterbury, Vt. Sharrow also recently took part in “an intense five-day roasting course” at Coffee Lab International. “We are going to do our beans in-house and hopefully sell to other places,” she said.

“Our coffee is the focus, it is what we do here and we want it to be the focus more than anything and I’m really passionate about it,” Sharrow said. The Center Coffee House menu includes “the classics” such as double espresso, cappuccino, latte, Americano and mocha as well as specialty coffees. She said the business has the only Unic Stella Espresso maker in the state.

“We usually host a different coffee every week, this week it’s Cuban coffee,” Sharrow said about that week’s promotion. She said on “$2 Tuesday” regular menu beverages are available throughout the day at the discounted price.

“Let’s do it all day and celebrate Tuesday,” Sharrow said. “For people who are watching their money it’s a great way to try a new drink,” she said.

Other beverage offerings include iced coffee, hot and iced tea, iced frappe, fruit smoothies, chai latte and hot chocolate. Sharrow mentioned the Center Coffee House serves chaider, which is a mixture of tea and cider — from Rollins Orchards in Garland — and a maple latte with the flavoring coming from Bob’s Sugarhouse in Dover-Foxcroft. “We try to keep everything as close to home as possible,” she said about the local ingredients.

Sharrow said Rainey Stutzman of Stutzman’s Farm Stand and Bakery in Sangerville does the baking and cooking for the Center Coffee House. The food menu includes quiches, soups, salads, parfaits and “Rainey’s four-cheese macaroni and cheese,” Sharrow said.

Gluten-free treats made by Lisa Giulianelli of Oats Any Time in Newport are available, as are donuts by Elaine’s Basket Cafe in Milo. “I have a little something in there from everybody,” Sharrow said about the bakery case.

Orders can be made online, with items ready for pickup in 20 minutes, or “come up to the walk-up window,” Sharrow said. She said this feature is convenient for parents who do not like to leave their children in the car.

Those who want to sit and relax with their drinks can do so at the chairs and tables inside or outside. Sharrow said she is working with the Center Theatre on possibilities to expand the seating at the coffee house.

“We are going to host an adult game night with board games,” Sharrow said. She said the Doughty Hill Band performed at the Center Coffee House recently and “we have live music on some Saturday mornings.”

“We have some fun things coming up that are still in the works,” Sharrow said. She said one idea is a coffee crawl in conjunction with other businesses in town. Sharrow said the various establishments would serve another’s coffee and patrons would then score the drinks without knowing where the beverage came from to “really judge with taste.”

The Center Coffee House is located at 22 East Main Street and is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “During larger theatre events we are open, plays and stuff like that,” Sharrow said about some evening hours of operation.

For more information, please call 802-8052 or go to www.centercoffeehouse.com or the Center Coffee House Facebook page at www.facebook.com/centercoffeehousedova.

Photo courtesy of Brenda Schultz

LOTS OF TASTY CHOICES — The Center Coffee House bakery case includes various treats, with items and ingredients in menu offerings coming from a number of local sources.