A time to reconnect | News, sports, jobs

Gabrielle remembers when they first took over the cafe from the previous owner. They moved into the apartment above the store and although they changed the name, they didn’t change the interior design. Still, people came in and said they really liked what they had done to the place.

“Something about this space – people will tell us, ‘This is a safe space'” Gabrielle said. “Even if half of the art exhibition was purchased and we have notches on the walls, there is nothing sophisticated about the space. It’s like walking into someone’s half-inhabited living room.”

And it was practically the family’s living room since they lived right above the store.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for businesses, Gabrielle remembers it as a good time. They became a place where people could go for a sense of routine and normality. They turned their front window into a pickup window and learned to recognize their customers’ cars so they could place their coffee orders.

Gabrielle and Steve Popp stand in their coffee shop and home, Old Mountain Coffee, in Keene Valley on Wednesday. The store is open for the last day today. (Corporate photo – Grace McIntyre)

Gabrielle is grateful for the way they have been invited to special moments in people’s lives – asked to cater weddings, special brunches and memorial services. She knows the people who order the same thing every day and set up their laptop at the same table to work. She knows the groups of friends who come over for a cup of tea or to chat over lunch.

Old Mountain Coffee is about the only place in Keene or Keene Valley where you can sit down and work over a cup of coffee, Gabrielle said. She knows her absence will leave a void that other companies will hopefully fill. However, spending time with family is a priority for her and her husband. Her son is ten and “Still want to spend time with mom and dad.”

“This time is fleeting, so we thought, ‘It has to happen now'” Gabrielle said. “Tomorrow will be too late.”

Although the store is closing, they will continue to roast their signature coffee beans, which will be available online on their website and through their wholesale partners, including Green Goddess in Lake Placid, Nori’s in Saranac Lake and Whitney’s Maple Spring Farm Stand in Keene, among others.

They are keeping the building and plans for a new use are in the works, so they encourage the community to stay tuned.

Sign at Old Mountain Coffee in Keene Valley (Corporate Photo – Grace McIntyre)

The challenge of running a coffee shop was also a blessing. The non-stop operation during peak seasons and weekends is one of the reasons why the business is not very sustainable for a family with a small child, Gabrielle said.

However, one of her favorite parts of the job was the slower moments when she could take time to reconnect with neighbors who stopped by the store.

To see the impact Old Mountain Coffee has had on the community around them, one only has to look at the hundreds of comments on their social media posts announcing the store’s closing.

“You have become friends and family to me.”

“You were the light at the end of the (long drive from Long Island) tunnel.”

“We stop there all the time – it’s only a few times a year, but it feels like home.”

“OMC is part of the heart and soul of Keene Valley.”

Gabrielle said she grieves more than anything the loss of community in the space they created.

“We would like to thank people for their outpouring of support and love for us over the years.” Gabrielle said. “We definitely felt the love, and we feel it now.”