Coffee Club Will Make Last Cup of Joe July 1

Media residents will have to find a new club to join in about a week, a new place to get that morning jolt or afternoon pick me up because on State Street will be closing its doors on July 1.

Coffee Club owner Nicole Campbell says the coffee hang out will be closing early, around 2 p.m., every day until July 1.

Campbell, whose father handed over the business to her a few years ago, says the main reason behind the decision to close was to be with her family. Together the family has owned Coffee Club, which originally opened in 1993, for five years and they are the fifth owners overall.

Campbell’s mother has had some serious health issues in the last few years, which is why Campbell’s father gave her the reins of the business so he could go out and find another job that offered better health insurance. 

After a few hurdles Campbell’s father is now a service manager at Kia of Coatesville and her mother works two jobs herself at an insurance agency and doctor’s office, all while Campbell runs Coffee Club.

"It’s difficult to balance it all," she says.

She says that although all businesses struggle in this bad economy, Coffee Club wasn’t greatly affected and that’s not why they are closing.

"It had nothing to do with the economy," she says. "Family in the end is what matters."

But at the same time, Campbell says, she considers her Coffee Club customers an extension of her own family.

"I’m going to miss my customers," she says. "Without them we never would have been here. I’ve met so many people and I’m going to miss them a lot. It’ll be tough to say goodbye. I do want to thank everyone for all the memories and for being there and being supportive."

Campbell and her employees have begun to break the news to the customers and many are disappointed to see their favorite coffee shop, closing up shop.

"We started telling them this week. And we get the sad puppy dog eyes," she says.

Campbell, 25, and her father have talked about future business ideas. Nothing is set in stone and they are just ideas because right now, the true focus is family, not business.

But you never know.

"You never know what the future holds," Campbell says. "When one door closes, another opens."

Campbell, who is getting married next year, knows she’ll have plenty of work ahead of her and says she’ll miss working for herself and the routine of Coffee Club.

But she knows spending time with her mother and family is more important than any business or cup of coffee.

"My mom is my biggest inspiration," Campbell says. "She’s always smiling."

Campbell recalled a simple childhood memory that seems to sum up her mother's personality as well as her business savvy and resourcefulness. 

When she was a little girl, Campbell and her mother would take walks in her red wagon around Ridley Township, where she grew up. As they'd walk along, her mother would find and put loose change they found together into the wagon. Then at the end of the week, they would use the change to buy ice cream.

Campbell says her mother always knows how to take care of people but now it’s Campbell and her family’s turn to take care of her mother.

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