Coffee Den Resurrected

It's cool when someone resurrects an old name for their business, so I give Penny Sebeny props for naming her coffee shop in Manchester the Coffee Den. That's what it was called in the same building from the '40s into the early 1960s. (See today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette.)

Walking into the place, which Penny opened in October, 2007, you feel a sense of old and new. The high tin ceiling, for example, harkens back to the old days. About 80 percent of the tin is original, with the rest matching so well only a trained eye can tell which panels are new. Plenty of old photos also decorate the walls.

As expected with any coffee shop today, you can buy a wide variety of coffees and variations on it. Penny, who moved with husband, Mike, and family from Cedar Rapids to Manchester 9 years ago, worked at the Starbucks at the Marion Hy-Vee to learn the ropes before taking the plunge into her own business.

As a result, this is more than just a coffee shop. You can also buy homemade rolls, soups and sandwiches. Kids meals and cold drinks are also available.

And, since Penny was worried that people in Manchester might balk at paying $1.19 and up for a cup of coffee, she's holding coffee appreciation classes to inform her customers about the finer points of coffee.

So far, Penny says, business has been good. To learn about the Coffee Den

click here.