Have you ever wanted to just sit and chat over coffee or tea, but the place with the Mermaid isn’t really your thing? Besides, that place only has locations in cities of a certain population, and rural Portage and Trumbull Counties don’t have many of those.
Well, residents of Newton Falls and surrounding areas, you are in luck. Nestled in and next to the Healthy Treasures Health Food Store is Newton Falls’ newest business, the Broken Leaf Café. Located at 38 West Broad Street, it boasts a charming, relaxing sitting room to enjoy your wares. Decorated with a mix of homemade crafts and paintings by local artist Ed Sinchak, it is an inviting location to hang up your worries and sit a spell. This is a family venture owned and operated by Lillian McGinnis and her parents Stacey and Sheila Hoffaker. Lillian has tried several career paths, but this one stuck. She has always loved coffee and tea, tea over coffee…just a bit. She saw a need in downtown for a safe gathering space with a drink that all can enjoy! Speaking of wares…
Coffees are certified organic, available in 16 and 20 oz. They have a great variety of coffees, espresso and espresso-based drinks. They also carry frappes and specialty lattes, which are available both hot and iced. They will always have one light roast, 2 medium roasts and 2 dark roasts. This native of Kent had to order the Black Squirrel Dark Roast…delicious! Coffee products can be customized by milk alternatives, flavored syrup, topping or adding an extra espresso shot. Not being hip to all the different coffee drinks, I look forward to learning about them, one mug at a time!
Teas are brewed from the Loose Leaf product line. Blackberry Bellini, Morning Mint, and Nutty Almond Cream are the most popular hot teas. Black Tea Lemon, Blueberry Wild Child, Morning Mint and Strawberry Lemonade are served iced. Teas can also be customized. Lotus Energy drinks and bulk loose leaf teas will be added soon. They also plan to add a line of refillable ‘sili’ cups with their logo. Bring a Broken Leaf sili cup in and receive a discount on your refill. Good for you, good for the environment.
So, what is coffee and tea without some something to nibble? The Cafe’ offers breakfast and lunch. The breakfast menu includes bagels, bagel sandwiches, croissant sandwiches and pancakes. Lunch includes wraps and salads. You can enter through Healthy Treasures, or through the Broken Leaf dining area. Go to the back of the store to place your order and pay. Take a seat in the dining area and they bring your order to your table.
They had a soft opening the first week of May. Their sign was up, beautifully highlighting their lovely downtown store front. They also have a circular sign above the counter area in the back of Healthy Treasures. Mountaineer Fabworks did a wonderful job for them! There was a steady stream of customers, curiosity seekers and well-wishers. Business was so good, they had to close to restock for the Late Night in the Falls event last Friday!
One of the advantages of being a reporter is getting to poke your nose around various places. This reporter stopped in on opening day, enjoying breakfast and coffee. While there, the dining area lived up to its purpose, allowing me to get to know some customers. I had a lovely chat with two ladies, Pam and Debbie. They met there to try the place out, having read about it on the Facebook Page, betheNEWtonfalls. Pam was enjoying Chai Tea, while Debbie had ordered the Mediterranean Breakfast Wrap. Both were quite happy with their orders. Interestingly, Pam had once had a shop, Rainbow’s End, in the very same location!
The name, Broken Leaf, has dual meanings for them. The obvious meaning is that of tea…tea is brewed from broken leaves in hot water. This cafe has a deeper meaning that is dear to the hearts of the owners. Sheila recently battled Ovarian Cancer. While she thought she was doing everything right, getting the recommended check ups at the recommended age, in November of 2021 she began not feeling well. By the time she had the correct test (CA125-she strongly recommends every woman insists their doctor add that test to their yearly bloodwork) it was discovered she had Ovarian Cancer, Stage 3! Both Sheila and Lillan credit the attitude of Positivity to the happy outcome. After 7 rounds of chemo, she is cancer-free. As she says, if you put a broken leaf in hot water, something beautiful comes of it. It is that attitude of Positivity that has since created the cafe.
Hours for the cafe are Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm, and Saturday from 9:00am to 3:00pm. You can contact the owners through brokenleafcafe@gmail.com or brokenleafcafe.com. The Broken Leaf Cafe is up on social media. Already boasting two TikTok videos, it also has a Facebook Page and a web site for catering. At this moment, the FB page has 402 likes and 529 followers. Why not add your thumbs-up?
They are planning their Grand Opening this week, May 10. Take a stroll down the lovely Broad Street. Stop at the unique shops like Fairview Acres Mercantile or the Churchmouse, or Glass Act, of BS Collectibles, or Healthy Treasures, or Sewin Leather. Stop in for a cuppa Joe or Tea and something to eat. Sit, relax, you are with friends.
