Coffee Shops 4

Our coffee shops fulfill many of the same purposes as the public houses serve. Caffeine establishments offer friends a stress-free place to convene, groups a convivial location for conversation, and individuals a quiet space to connect via their favorite media. The Depot Coffee House in Urbana, Ohio, achieves all goals.

All Aboard! for Lattes to Go

At the Depot Coffee House

Urbana, Ohio

Low-fat lattes as delicious as any we have found anywhere were served to my dear friend Eleanor Y. Stewart and me on one of our excursions that we like to call an “Authors’ Day Out.” The Depot Coffee House is, in fact, a coffee house within a former depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad. As an Ohio historical marker highlights, architects Packard and Yost in Columbus, Ohio, created the building in 1894. The Pennsylvania, the Big Four, and the Erie passed through Urbana, making distant cities accessible to Urbana and Urbana accessible to the nation.

What Better Location

For the Depot Coffee House

Than a Depot?

Details within the renovated depot honor Packard and Yost; for example, the honey-colored woodwork adorning the walls, encircling the doorways, and surrounding the panes of glass in each arched window lends a pleasant tone to the rooms. While Eleanor and I enjoyed our lattes and laughter, a group gathered at a long table in the neighboring room, pairs of friends nestled in comfortable chairs here and there, and individuals consulted smartphones over breakfast. Sunlight streamed across the baristas’ station and brightened the corners of the porch where passengers once stood awaiting their trains.

Honey-Colored Woodwork

Adorning the Depot Coffee House

If I sound a tad surprised that a coffee shop in Urbana serves outstanding lattes, I don’t mean to. Before our first outing to the Depot Coffee House, Eleanor and I had read the online reviews and felt assured that we would not be disappointed; but, in a way, we were surprised because the coffee and the depot reached similar high standards of excellence with one complementing the other. Even though we were in good moods when we stepped inside the station, our spirits were lifted to exuberance when we sat having our lattes within such a unique structure. Now we wish more cities and towns near our homes would resurrect depots as coffee shops. For that matter, we know of at least two Victorian firehouses that would make splendid destinations for coffee lovers!

Mixtures of Masonry

Characterizing the Architecture

Of the Depot Coffee House

   

Urbana, Ohio:

Your Destination for Lattes and More!