What's Cooking: Ambridge & Wampum get new coffeeshops; 'crookies' await in Monaca
(What's Cooking is a twice-a-month look at the Beaver Valley dining & drinks scene).
Wampum Coffee Co. opened two weekends ago at 323 Main St., in Wampum, serving lattes, teas, coffee, pastries and small bites such as soup, cornbread, quiches and salads.
The cozy, comfy cafe set soft-opening hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with more hours expected to be added once a few more employees complete training.
Wampum Coffee owners Bob and Jackie Rivers also have operated The National Grind coffeeshop in Ellwood City for almost 11 years. With its substantially larger kitchen space, the Wampum storefront will help expand food offerings for both locations.
Wampum Coffee's retro-meets-modern aesthetic includes blue, red, white, black and gray floor tiles, tables adorned with flowerpots and wood and metal chairs, plus partial booths pressed up against the exposed brick walls.
On those walls hang framed prints of Wampum's original street design plans.
"So, we're kind of encapsulating Wampum itself, but also creating space where you don't know you're in Wampum," Rivers said. "We've had so many people walk in and say, 'I can't believe I'm in Wampum right now, this is crazy.'"
The Rivers' feel a deep attachment to Wampum (pop. 548), a trailhead for the North Country Scenic Trail tucked in a valley just a few miles north of the Beaver County line.
"My wife grew up here, we were married in the little church two doors down," Bob Rivers said last week, seated at one of Wampum Coffee's corner tables, as customers ranging from retirees to Gen Zers and families with small kids, ordered muffins, Danishes, bagels a matcha latte with oat milk, espresso, a regular blend coffee and small-batch teas.
"Food-wise, we want some things to be staples (like) blueberry muffins. Everyone knows a blueberry muffin, but we'll also do some trendier things on the menu, like graham cracker cakes, bacon mozzarella cornbread. Savory things, sweet things. We do different quiches," Rivers said.
"The one I have now is a cheddar bacon ranch. We do potato horseradish cheddar. We'll do homemade taco rolls that's like a glorified pepperoni roll with different fillings we all make here. It'll change, but one of the things we have on the menu now is French onion soup. We have a Caeser salad that's vegan or gluten-free if you want it."
Rivers' dining industry career began at age 15, working his way up from dishwasher to food prep, to short order clerk, then culinary school, followed by an eight-year kitchen tenure for the downtown Pittsburgh Marriott, then a brief turn as a bartender.
"That's what we're trying to do here, encapsulate all those unique skills I have that we can do here, or take to Ellwood."
Ambridge's new coffee shop
Caffe Nero opened last month in Ambridge.
The family-owned coffee shop offers $7 breakfast sandwiches including bacon, egg and cheese and ham, egg and cheese served on a croissant, bagel or Mancini bread. Bagels with cream cheese are $2.50.
Lunch sandwiches include chicken salad on a croissant ($6.50), Italian panini ($8), turkey and cheddar ($8), club sandwich ($8.50), chicken BLT ($9) and corned beef and swiss ($9).
There are gluten-free bread options.
Banana pudding and blueberry pound cakes and Cookie Monster cheesecake (that's the color) have been among the intriguing dessert options.
Located at 1400 Duss Ave., Caffe Nero replaced Aunt Bridget's Tea Room.
Grab a crookie from Trish's
Trish's Truffles & Sweet Treats in Monaca keeps selling out of crookies, a newly added menu item that's all the rage in Paris and on TikTok.
Crookies are croissants stuffed and baked with chocolate chip cookie dough.
Trish's, at 1303 Pennsylvania Ave., uses a Pain au Chocolat croissant filled with cookie dough baked to golden perfection then finished with a drizzle of Belgium chocolate and Belgium chocolate chips. That concoction is Inspired by a master class on croissants, baguettes and artisan breads that owner Trish Koodrich took in Paris this past January.
"I am also going to be adding baguettes, artisan breads and sourdough breads to our collection starting April 11," Koodrich said. "I have hired a pastry chef who specializes in breads, especially artisan and sourdough.
Trish's Truffles & Sweet Treats is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and the same hours Saturdays, if Koodrich isn't hosting an event or baking class.
The crookies are available at the shop, online at trishestruffles.com or from the Trish's Truffles food truck, which on May 4 will be at the Ambridge Do It Best Home Center.
In the past month, ABC News, People magazine, the BBC, The Guardian and the New York Post all have posted stories about the fast-rising popularity of crookies.
Major disappointment for General Shu's fans
General Shu's ceased operations last week in Zelienople. The Chinese restaurant opened four years ago.
The majority of General Shu's employees were offered jobs across the street at ShuBrew brewpub, owned by the same family.
ShuBrew plans to begin lunch service in the near future, while the former General Shu’s will be made available for private event rentals, according to owners Zach and Erika Shumaker on the restaurant's Facebook page.
"While we may be saying goodbye to General Shu's as you've known it, our journey is far from over," the post said. "The love for beer, great food, and the joy of bringing people together remains unchanged. We're excited to continue sharing these passions with you at ShuBrew, where we'll also be honoring all General Shu's gift cards."
Pizza champions
Two Allegheny County-based pizza shop chains achieved glory at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas,
Caliente Pizza and Draft House representatives finished in third place in both the Northeast Traditional and Northeast Non-Traditional Pizza categories.
Caliente's commissary general manager, Matt Hickey, also won the World Championship for World's Largest Dough Stretch and a Silver Medal in the Pizza Acrobatics category. Caliente Pizza and Draft House owner Nick Bogacz's son, Perry Bogacz, won a Silver Medal for the Pizza Triathlon.
Caliente has seven locations, including Sewickley.
In the Best Cheese Slice category, Rico Lunardi, owner of the Slice on Broadway chain, finished in the Top Five.
Slice on Broadway has six locations, including Robinson Town Center.
Tidbits
B’Poppin Gourmet Popcorn and Sweet Treats in New Brighton will be back open for business starting in May, according to a Facebook post shared by the New Brighton Business District Authority.
Hash N Smash is nearing opening in downtown Beaver. The new breakfast and lunch diner has hired most of its servers and now seeks breakfast cooks.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: What's Cooking: Beaver County dining news from Ambridge, Monaca and Wampum
