MILTON ֱ Heartwood Coffee off North Main Street in Milton is now open.
Itֱs owned by Don and DeAnn Knapp. They owned another coffee shop in St. Albans in 2015 but it was a much smaller scale operation, mainly offering pour-over coffee.
Don Knapp said theyֱd always wanted to start something like their new cafe in Milton, which has been a great experience so far.
On the menu Heartwood Coffee offers a lineup of drinks made with espresso and steamed milk; several syrup flavors; and smoothies in fruit flavors such as cherry vanilla or pineapple coconut. Baked goods include gluten-friendly muffins made by DeAnn Knapp and other sweets like cakes and cookies made off-site by Gingerellaֱs Sweets.
Lunch items, such as salads and wraps, are in the works.
The Knapps currently source their coffee beans from a few different roasters including Cherry River Roasting Company in Richwood, West Virginia; Magnum Coffee Roastery in Nunica, Michigan; the Muse Coffee Company in Lynchburg, Virginia; and Coal River Coffee in St. Albans, West Virginia.
As for a favorite menu item, Don Knapp is the type who prefers a cup of black coffee over anything fancy, but he does have a favorite blend from the Muse Coffee Company.
ֱThey have one called ֱChristmas in a Cupֱ and it is fantastic,ֱ he said. ֱSo if you wanted something thatֱs just a nice black coffee that has this really cool flavor, you ought to try it, and the smell of it is unreal and I mean you open that up and people just say ֱMy gosh, Iֱm gonna have that.ֱֱ
Itֱs located in the same building as New Heights Church, where the Knapps are members, but operations are separate.
A few years ago, the church decided to look for a new facility, around the same time the Knapps started planning their coffee shop. They ended up finding the building together. New Heights Church has been open in the space since December 2023.
Renovating the building for the coffee shop was an undertaking, but a challenge they still enjoyed. The faux brick wall was done by Debbie Tucker with Signature Contracting LLC, and the wooden counter in the front is a desk from Habitat for Humanityֱs ReStore.
The name Heartwood Coffee came from the cafeֱs logo. It was the original logo for New Heights Church for its first nine years, designed by Will Basham, but when the church decided to go in a new direction, it was going to ditch the old logo.
Don Knapp liked the logo and asked if he could use it for his coffee shop when it opened; it had already been printed on lots of T-shirts and bumper stickers. With the logo, Don and DeAnn started looking up ideas for a name that had to do with hearts and trees.
ֱShe finds the word ֱheartwood,ֱ which is actually a piece of the trunk of a tree that is dead. Itֱs in the center of the tree and it adds strength to the tree trunk, oddly enough, and we thought, ֱWell, how cool is that?ֱ Thatֱs kind of like an unforeseen part of this tree trunk that that is hidden inside and it adds strength and thatֱs kind of how, to me and her, thatֱs kind of how God does his thing. You donֱt always see him out in the front but heֱs still back there adding strength or building you up. So we thought thatֱs perfect,ֱ he said.
So far, the community reception has been great, the Knapps said. Their neighbors from down the street, Three Birds Floral and Boutique, brought over a bouquet to celebrate the cafe opening. One day, a local business, Evelynֱs Enterprises, put down a $250 tab for people to purchase drinks on. The Milton ֱ Department also hosted its recent ֱCoffee with Copsֱ event at Heartwood.
A few weeks before Heartwood Coffee opened, the City of Milton announced that global coffee chain Starbucks will build a store in the town, near the existing Sheetz. The news didnֱt faze the Knapps.
Don Knapp says he is ֱexcitedֱ for the new Starbucks, not to go there, but because ֱbusiness draws business.ֱ
ֱI think thereֱs enough room for everybody,ֱ he said.
