By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — The River Coffee continues to grow and will be operating seven coffee shops in Kosciusko County by the end of May.
On Saturday, Amanda Meerzo, who runs the business with her husband, Jamel, celebrated moving their downtown Warsaw shop from the corner of Buffalo and Center streets to a block west, to 121 W. Center St., where Generous Coffee has been operating for two years in conjunction with The River.
Generous Coffee is the exclusive roaster for The River, and Meerzo says sharing the space just seems to make sense.
While The River’s previous downtown corner location was quaint, it included a lower level for food preparation that made customer service a bit more complicated, she said.
Plus, Meerzo said, the new location has unrestricted parking just around the corner.
Also on Saturday, Meerzo helped open up a new coffee shop at Jellystone Campground near Pierceton, and by the end of the month, they plan to open another shop at Oakwood Resort in Syracuse.
With the additions, that’s four new stores in two years. Other locations include Winona Lake, North Webster, Milford and the YMCA in Warsaw.
“These have been areas that have been requested, I would say, so we decided to grow,” Meerzo said Saturday afternoon.
The appetite for fresh coffee and other drinks continues to test the limits of consumer demand in the downtown.
The expansion comes just days after Three Crowns Coffee said they plan to move from North Detroit Street to North Buffalo Street near Center Lake Park.
At the same time, two other businesses are taking steps toward opening two drive-thru coffee shop businesses in Warsaw in the near future.
Meerzo said they’re feeling confident about the growth pattern.
“Yeah, we do very well. I mean, we’re employing over 70 people right now,” she said.
Generous was founded in 2017 as a “fundraising engine” for nonprofits, and opened its roastery two years ago.
The company designates profits to be directed every three months to a different entity and relies on support from a local company to help offset operational costs. The current supporter is Lake City Electric.
Generous Coffee continues to contribute 100 percent of its profits to nonprofit organizations and offers coffee drinks in the roastery area with an invitation to donate.
Erica Deuel, who manages the roastery for Generous, says it’s good for everyone.
“As The River grows, Generous grows. We’re now roasting four days a week just to have enough coffee for them and our other locations,” Deuel said.
