By Bill Wellock, Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice
WILKES-BARRE — Downtown Wilkes-Barre will soon be home to another independent coffee shop.
Lafe and Kaili Isaacson plan to open Abide Coffeehouse at 23 W. Market St. in mid-March.
They will serve coffee and espresso drinks, as well as food. They hope to partner with a local bakery for donuts, and will also serve breakfast sandwiches and small plates with items like cheese and hummus.
Their coffee will come from Proper Coffee Roasters of Evansville, Indiana. The Isaacsons know the properitors of Proper Coffee Roasters from college.
The husband and wife met in San Diego and moved to Luzerne County in 2017. Kaili Isaacson is a 2010 alumna of Hanover Area High School, which is how the duo knew the area.
Part of the their goal is to make a place that can be an alternative to other entertainment options. To that end, they plan to open Friday nights for acoustic music.
“It’s a more mellow alternative to the bars. We definitely plan to have some sort of an outlet for that,” Lafe Isaacson said.
Other regular events will be on their calendar.
They plan to hold a weekly night geared to college students and other young adults with board games, video games and other entertainment. The day of the week for that has yet to be determined.
They will also host a weekly night for Christians and people considering Christianity. That night will be a sort of “Socratic club” for people who want to explore their faith, Lafe Isaacson said.
“It’s the opposite of stained glass windows and organs,” he said.
Because the building is so large, they plan to convert part of it into a play area for young children. They’ll host events a few times a week where parents can bring their children.
“It’s really geared around bring in the community, giving them an opportunity to hang out, relax and abide,” Isaacson said.
