The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Fiona’s prepares to open in place of Arabica
Coffee shop to offer “A Northeast Ohio brand”
The owners plan to open the business as soon as they have their new staff of 15 trained and ready to go.
Customers will notice only little changes to the interior of 4148 Erie St. when the doors open to the public.
The location, formerly Arabica Coffee, is now Fiona’s Coffee Shop.
New owners Seamus and McPat Coyne, along with their sister Meghan Klicman, who will be managing Fiona’s in downtown Willoughby, anticipate the coffee shop being opened possibly the first weekend in March, but definitely by March 10.
“We are really excited,” Seamus said.
The Coynes plan to open the business as soon as they have their new staff of 15 trained and ready to go.
The coffee shop has what Seamus has referred to as a Northeast Ohio brand, since the majority of items served will be locally sourced.
Local suppliers include Rising Star Coffee Roasters, Great Grains Breads, Mitchell’s Ice Cream, Inca Tea, Chill Pop Popsicles and Cleveland Bagel Co.
Most of the suppliers will be in attendance at the opening night ribbon cutting, Seamus said.
“They are all going to come out, so we are really going to try to make a great night of it, opening up the upstairs and downstairs and feature what we got,” Seamus stated.
The Coynes are working with Willoughby Western Lake County Chamber of Commerce to plan the opening and hope to have Willoughby Mayor David Anderson present for the ribbon cutting.
Prior to opening, Fiona’s will host a coffee tasting night and ask the public for its input in creating a custom Fiona’s blend.
Rising Star Coffee will be bringing in several blends and using the general consensus from customers to create the custom blend.
“We are going to put it out there so you can come in and get some free coffee, we just want your feedback,” Seamus said.
“From all the feedback they (Rising Star) get, they are going to make Fiona’s custom blend.
Fiona’s will serve three different blends, Klicman said.
In addition, Fiona’s will offer all of the beverages one can expect to purchase in a coffee shop: espressos, mochas, hot and ice teas and coffees, along with pop and other bottled beverages.
The coffee shop also will serve three to four breakfast sandwiches and three to four lunch sandwiches, served on a choice of fruit, cinnamon or wheat breads or bagels. They also will serve two salads and a house soup, scoop and serve ice cream, and fresh mini-doughnuts made to order with an assortment of toppings, Klicman said.
Customers will be able to enjoy their meals surrounded by the familiar brick walls.
“Overall, we wanted to keep it pretty much the way it was,” Seamus stated. “People come in because of the place, it has a good feel with the brick walls and old ceiling so we really didn’t want to switch much of that.
One notable change is where once was a bookshelf filled with games is now a fireplace.
A projection TV has been installed in the upstairs area, which is available to the public as a meeting space.
Multiple groups have already reserved the room for monthly meetings, Seamus said.
The Coynes plan to do a couple of friend-and-family trial nights before officially opening.
Fiona’s, when it opens for regular business, will be open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays; 6 a.m. to midnight, Fridays and Saturdays; and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays.