November 3, 2010

Explore Baltimore County: Catonsville wakes up and smells the coffee


Explore Baltimore County: Catonsville wakes up and smells the coffee

Downtown Catonsville woke up Friday morning to the smell and sight of thermoses full of organic coffee as Six Mile Coffee enjoyed a quiet opening at 6 a.m. at its new location at 609 Frederick Road.

Inside, a gleaming pastry case was filled with Danish pastries, cinnamon twists, Halloween-themed cupcakes and pies from Sweet, a bakery that owner Chris Sikora owns and runs in nearby Ellicott City.

The coffee shop also offers a menu of sandwiches, soups, salads and bread pizzas made in a high-speed oven.

Sikora estimated that half-dozen customers had trickled in by 9 a.m.

Sikora said the coffee shop will have its grand opening Saturday, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Greater Catonsville Chamber of Commerce at 9 a.m.

Located in the former Chesapeake Bank building near Catonsville Elementary School, the coffee shop also includes a drive-through window for commuters.

“It’s super exciting,” said manager Michelle McClelland, who lives just inside the Baltimore City line and can walk to work.

A former Starbucks employee, McClelland moved to the area earlier this year from Lynchburg, Va.

“I much prefer the local thing,” said McClelland, who said that the products at Six Mile Coffee are economically sustainable and as “green” as possible.

“We recycle,” she said. “We do all the stuff that Starbucks doesn’t do.”

Ellicott City resident Kevin Hardy, Sikora’s pastor at Crossroads Church on Rogers Avenue in Ellicott City, stopped in to buy a cup of coffee and an apple Danish.

“I love coffee,” said Hardy, who said that with many of his parishioners living in the area, he would use the business as a meeting place in the future.

The coffee shop’s Wi-Fi makes it a convenient place to have a cup of coffee and surf the Internet, he said.

“It really looks good,” Hardy said. “I think he’s done a great job (of) really making it warm and friendly.”

Six Mile coffee will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This place is going to be so cool once they get the music and lighting figured out. The coffee and sweets are great,the staff is very friendly and they offer in store recycling! Hopefully next spring they will add some outdoor seating(think sidewalk cafe).
All the best,

On the Lighter Side!