New West Chester Cafe Offers Lattes And Friendships

WEST CHESTER, PA — Meet latte artist Brian Smith at the newest cafe in downtown West Chester and watch the barista at work.

Smith, a barista at Turk’s Head Cafe, 111 N. Church St., demonstrated how to make a cup of latte.

Smith grinds the high-quality coffee to make espresso. Then, he mixes it with steam milk with a thin level of foam.

Smith decorates the top of the latte with a heart, a monkey, a flower or anything you would desire.

Smith, a former manager at Saxbys Coffee in West Chester, has a passion for mixing complicated coffee beverages.

While Smith mixes the lattes, Juliet Goldfine, a recent West Chester University graduate, takes orders at the new cafe, which opened on June 6.

Goldfine said she loves meeting new people at the cafe.

Smith knows coffee and latte art.

“He’s a latte artist,” Jeremiah Kane IV, one of the owners, said proudly. “He’ll make you a cup.”

The cafe is a safe haven where patrons can relax, socialize and or study. The second floor has tables set up where people can study. The room is spacious and can hold events.

Kane said he plans to offer AA and NA groups the space to meet.

“This is a labor of love,” he said. “We have all the socialization of a bar, with coffee.”

During last week’s Borough Council meeting, the members raved about the new cafe.

It’s styled like the popular coffee houses of the 1960s, where people from all walks of life are welcome.

Kane co-owns the cafe with Andrew Lamont, Michael Lamont and Tommy Lamont.

The Lamont brothers also own Turk’s Head Coffee Roasters, a family business that started in 1956 to offer high-quality coffee to local businesses.

The business was named after the original name of West Chester - Turk’s Head. There was a tavern downtown in the early days of the town called Turk’s Head.

Sitting in an outdoor section of the cafe on a recent afternoon, a group of regulars were socializing.

There is a mural of a horse and General Marquis de Lafayette, who stopped in West Chester after an 1825 visit to the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine.

“This is the heart and soul of West Chester,” Kevin Downey, a customer, said.