To celebrate a full year of operation in the Hamburg community, the staff of Four Twelve will host a Birthday Bash on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The coffee shop, 12 South Fourth Street, will give a free regular coffee to the first 20 customers that day. The celebration will also include three prize drawings for store merchandise and gift cards, plus Cookies with Santa from noon to 2 p.m. During those two hours, children ages 10 or under will enjoy free milk and cookies.
Kristin Stamm, operations manager, and Erica Cogle, who handles social media and design, agreed the Birthday Bash is a way to thank the local customers who have made the coffee shop a community gathering spot.
“It’s been a really good year,” Cogle said, “one with a learning curve, for sure. I think the sweet spot is the relationships we’ve made with our customers. The community has become a second family to us.”
“I feel this is the place where people come to breathe,” Stamm added. “And as we get to know our customers, it’s now like catching up with your family every day.”
The shop has become a regular meeting place for mothers with preschoolers in tow or senior citizens gathered to chat. People who work at home transfer their “office” to the coffee shop, and students stop in for a snack after a day of studies.
Stamm and Cogle state that ongoing community backing helped the shop, which included a staff of a dozen or so first-time baristas, beat the odds and survive a full year and beyond.
“We want to celebrate our customers,” Stamm said, because “we wouldn’t have lasted a year without their support.”
She is especially excited about Santa’s visit on Dec. 9 and the chance to offer an event for youngsters.
“It’s a fun thing for families to do and it’s free,” she said. “It’s always a good thing to facilitate something like that.”
In addition to the birthday event, December marks the switch from fall to holiday flavors at Four Twelve. Drink choices will include eggnog lattes and gingerbread or peppermint drink flavors. Autumn’s pumpkin waffle will be replaced with a cranberry walnut version.
“It’s a little lighter, more citrusy and tart,” Stamm said.
Pastries are sourced from local bakeries The Smith Homestead of Bernville, and Cake Pros, Schuylkill Haven. In the grab-and-go cooler, Four Twelve now stocks gluten-free sandwiches from Bake Shop 6 in Pottsville.
For the full menu, readers can visit the coffee shop’s website at fourtwelvecoffee.com, call 484-660-3703 or visit during regular winter hours Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Saturdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
