The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
‘HAPPY CONCLUSION’
Serendipity Cafe opens in Chittenango
Chittenango High School graduate Sarah Beagle has combined her love of baking and community to bring serendipity, in the form of Serendipity Cafe, to Chittenango.
The cafe is located at 620 E. Genesee St. in Chittenango in the former North Pole restaurant. The North Pole was a longtime popular ice cream store and shop, a landmark in Chittenango. Beagle said the cafe was an instant sensation when it opened on Jan. 7.
“We had people lined up around the store,” she said. “We ran out of baked goods around ten o’clock.”
The rest of that morning Beagle and her staff served the various mochas, lattes, and chais to their customers. Not that this would discourage Beagle, an avid baker who creates baked goods each morning for her customers.
“I like to bake,” she said.
Serendipity is defined as a series of events that lead to a happy conclusion. That’s the story behind the cafe, and also what Beagle and her staff want to share with their customers.
Beagle graduated from Chittenango High School in 2016 and obtained a teaching degree. When she returned home she noticed the village was lacking a certain something.
“I love coffeehouses, and I saw we didn’t have one in Chittenango,” she said. “I thought I’d try something new.”
Beagle took action. On March 20, 2022, she purchased the former North Pole building and renovated it. The cafe features tall tables and easy-listening music for their customers.
“We redesigned the entire building,” Beagle said. “We wanted to make it have more of the coffeehouse feel.”
And they are now open for business. Their hours are 6:30 a.m. through five p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. through 3 p.m. on weekends.
Their menu includes various coffees and teas, and breakfast treats. They have a Facebook page, “Serendipity Cafe.”
“I always liked to bake cupcakes, and I thought I’d try something new,” Beagle, the chief baker at the cafe, said. “We have peanut butter chocolate cupcakes, and oreo cupcakes, and other items.”
The North Pole once featured a sit-down area for various breakfasts and lunch dishes. “We may have breakfast sandwiches at some point, a take-and-go type menu, but for now we have hot drinks and our baked goods,” Beagle said.