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.

[caption id="attachment_131012" align="alignright" width="460"] The roastery at Generous Coffee remains in the back half of the building and has seating for the public. They still offer free coffee and information about operations. Bags of coffee are seen at left. The table at right was for art and crafts. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

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.

The post The River opening 6th and 7th coffee shops in Kosciusko County this month appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — Warsaw officials celebrated the completion of its newest mural Friday and an official with the company that authorized it — AkzoNobel — confirmed they're considering another one in the city.

Muralist Chris Catalogna finished the mural — this one on the west side of the YMCA’s new downtown facility — in just four weeks.

"Luckily, it was super warm in October so that was awesome, but I knew I was pushing my luck if I was to go into the last week of October," Catalogna said.

The mural honors the old Madison Elementary and shows children streaming out of the old school which had been located where the new YMCA now stands.

The west-facing mural is adjacent to a new city park which is part of an overall residential development by G&G Hauling and Excavating.

Support for the mural was led by the Warsaw Public Arts Commission and other groups including the YMCA of Kosciusko County

AxoNobel, a global supplier of paints and coatings, proposed the mural as part of its initiative to add color to communities across the world.

Catalogna said while he's done numerous other murals, but this is the first that is adjacent to a public park.

During the project, he said he often chatted with children and parents who were visiting the park, which led to a better understanding of the neighborhood and the impact.

"Until you're here talking to people, you really don't know so I got a really good perspective on what this mural's going to do and the kids — who's going to be impacted," he said.

AkzoNobel’s Warsaw Site Manager, Hector Loyola, thanked Catalogna for his work.

The company has completed 3,059 community projects globally and Loyola said they were “eager to bring our passion for coloring”  to Warsaw.

YMCA CEO Jim Swanson said he appreciated the way the mural helps keep the history of Madison alive.

Paulette Davis, with the Arts Commission, thanked AkzoNobel for contacting the commission and giving it the opportunity to further expand its mission of expanding public art.

Others supporting the project included the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Warsaw, and Clearly Kosciusko.

Newanna Moore, management assistant for AkzoNobel, confirmed the company wants to do another mural in Warsaw.

“We’re hoping to do another one soon,” Moore said. “I have been talking with Suzie Light with the arts commission to see what our next options are.”

She said they’re looking at a possible location and a theme for the mural.

[caption id="attachment_101087" align="aligncenter" width="886"] Various groups on Friday celebrated the completion of the mural on the west side of the YMCA's new facility on West Fort Wayne Street. The mural was funded by AkzoNobel. Part of a new city park can be seen to the left. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

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WARSAW  — A bid to provide The YMCA of Kosciusko County with with $100,000 for its soon-to-be constructed downtown facility with ARPA money was turned back Thursday night in a final vote by County Council.

The commissioners had recommended the $100,000 for the YMCA, which held a groundbreaking earlier this month.

None of the County Council members who voted against the plan on Thursday night spoke about their reasons, but the close association of County Commissioner Cary Groninger and County Council member Kathy Groninger to the project became a complicating factor.

The Groningers are behind a residential development, Gateway Grove, that includes the future downtown YMCA project.

The commissioners had voted 2-0 to support the request just a few weeks ago, and Cary Groninger, abstained because of a conflict of interest.

On Thursday, an attempt to approve the recommendation by County Council ended in a 3-3 tie after Kathy Groninger —  the wife of Cary Groninger — also abstained over the conflict.

Those opposing the recommendation included Council President Mike Long and council members Joni Truex and Kimberly Cates.

Long called the setback a loss for the YMCA.

Meanwhile, Council voted to support recommendations to fund Joe's Kids and the Wagon Wheel Center for Performing arts with ARPA money.

The post County Council balks at funding downtown YMCA appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — Warsaw mayor Joe Thallemer is in the final stretch of a 12 year run, but has seen some fresh success in recent weeks.

He participated in the groundbreaking for a new YMCA facility just blocks from city hall at the site of the old Madison elementary — and said he’s excited about resurrecting the old property in a way that will revitalize the area.

Renovations to the future downtown YMCA, which will include a new 24/7 fitness facility, are expected to be complete by early 2024.

Trump also attended the open house for the revamped and renamed Center Lake Pavilion earlier this month.

Zimmer Biomet covered 2.5 million in the renovation costs for what is now a sparkling new facility that he says will make it the top event center again in the city.

Better yet, Guests at the open house heard Zimmer Biomet’s new CEO talk glowingly about the company’s partnership and commitment with the city.

Comments from CEO Ivan Tornos helped tamp down talk of the company ever moving its headquarters.

"The public needs to hear that and I think they did," Thallemer said.

Tornos also talked about how the community has nurtured the orthopedic capital of the world and how much it supports the community.

Those comments were certainly gratifying for Thallemer.

"We try to make this community a community that attracts a workforce that can support a global industry and that's what I've done for the last 12 years," Thallemer said.

Thallemer talked about the highlights during a segment on In the know, the public affair show you can hear Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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