Coffee Shed: A new option for drive-through java and treats in Trumansburg

The Coffee Shed is looking to bring speedy service and tasty breakfast treats to the village of Trumansburg. 

The new drive-thru coffee stand started operating last fall at the site of Trimmers, the popular ice cream shop in Trumansburg. Both are located at 9833 state Route 96. 

The Coffee Shed serves traditional coffee shop offerings and is powered by locally sourced ingredients and materials. The java comes from brewing beans roasted locally by Copper Horse Coffee Roasters on Slaterville Road in Ithaca. Breakfast is cooked in house, featuring traditional breakfast sandwiches built on Ithaca Bakery bagels. Sweet pastries to satisfy the morning craving for a sugar rush come from Sweet Sprinkles Bakery in Interlaken.

“We hope that customers get the coffee exactly the way they want it,” said Keith Hannon, who co-owns The Coffee Shed with his wife, Casey Keller. “And if they order food, we want that to be hot and delicious, and we want it served by someone that’s extremely gracious and is happy that they came by. All of that hopefully happens as quickly as possible.”

Hannon and Keller took over Trimmers last May, getting their first taste of what it is like to run a quick-service food business. They opened The Coffee Shed after feeling like they could offer coffee in addition to delicious soft serve and a variety of ice cream options. 

“We kind of had that vision right when we bought Trimmers,” Hannon said. “We thought coffee had potential there. It’s actually something people would mention to us after they found out we bought Trimmers.”

The Coffee Shed offers classic coffee beverages, as well as some more inventive options. Recently, the shop’s Facebook page featured a photo of a Thin Mint latte, in honor of the popular Girl Scout cookie flavor, as a weekly featured item.

“Peppermint, vanilla, and chocolate syrups make this drink taste just like the real thing,” staff wrote on the Facebook post. ‘Whipped cream, thin mint crumble, and a cookie on the side finish it off with a flourish.”

That type of creativity extends throughout the menu, which Hannon said has established classic options with more original drinks.

“I think our egg and cheese and sausage bagel sandwiches are popular. We have about six different types of bagel, so you can pick your bagel,” Hannon said. 

That breakfast sandwich has become a staple for some residents, he added. 

“That breakfast sandwich has become pretty popular at some local businesses. Sometimes if they have meetings, they’ll come in and order, like, 12 at a time,” Hannon noted. “So we’ve heard really good reviews on those sandwiches from elementary school kids up to people in their 70s.”

The Coffee Shed crew even managed to merge parts of Trimmers with the new coffee venture.

“We caught wind that it was national ice cream for breakfast day, so we cracked open the freezer and started doing some ice cream service with breakfast items. That morning was extremely busy,” Hannon said. “The amount of people who wanted ice cream for breakfast was very surprising to us, and they were really happy that it was a thing. Once the machines get turned on and the soft serve starts flowing again, we can probably get a little bit more creative with stuff like that.”

Beyond fulfilling the need in the village for fast service and a drive-thru coffee shop, Hannon said, he is happy to be able to serve his neighbors. 

“We’ve lived in this community for nine years; we’ve been volunteers,” he added. 

Hannon is a former member of the village board of trustees in Trumansburg. 

“I think for us it’s been extremely rewarding to be local business owners to not only serve the people we live with, work with, and coach the sports teams of, but just to be able to work in the shop and see them all the people in the community come through,” Hannon said. “We get to know people that we didn’t know before through the business, and that has been really rewarding for our family. It makes us extremely grateful to live where we live and to have a business where we have it.”

In brief:

The Ulysses Philomathic Library is hosting Textile Care and Repair events. Attendees can learn how to mend their closet. “No experience necessary!,” reads a post on the library’s website. Workshops will take place March 8 and 15. Space is limited, and interested parties are encouraged to register at the front desk or call 607-387-5623.

CORRECTION: The original version of this article has been changed to state that the baked goods sold at the Coffee Shed are from Sweet Sprinkles Bakery. Tompkins Weekly regrets the error.