A New Light to the Dark

Where once it was a foreign area for coffee shops, Main Street is greeted on May 15th, 2021 with Fog and Flame Coffee Shop. With the swing of the door, the fresh waft of Brooklyn-roast fills drifts through a customer's nose. The left wall, covered with authentic brick, dating back to 2013, had been salvaged and untouched as the new owners turned a miracle out of the small old shop. Seth Chamberlin, creator of the shop, overlooks the shop and greets his customer. Looking down from his eye level to most customers, and his wife, he has been greeting customers for longer than he's owned the business. He grew up working in the shop, and fell in love with the atmosphere. His wife, Tiana Belles, stood with her slim arms crossed and smiling while watching Chamberlin explain what is now his new passion.

As the old business fell through, Chamberlin and his wife stroll the streets and become discouraged when glancing through the glass windows noticing they're closed. The sunshine couple continually ask each other, "Is it worth getting into?" Fast forward a few years, Chamberlin now slips a humbling smile standing

Peter Grimord's Art 

 behind the string light lined counter as he voices "We have been overwhelmed by the reaction since we opened." With laser focus around local support and small farmers globally, the self taught interior designers position art covering the entire stretch of the wall. Glancing to the right, you can find a wall covered in beautifully hand created pieces. Tiana Belles, wife to Chamberlin, points eagerly to Peter Grimord's art as she "His art is the first six pieces as you walk in, we give each artist their own section of the wall." she nods and smiles with a hand on her black button up dress. The pen and ink crafted images go for eighty dollars a piece framed, and mostly depict scenes from nature. When opening the cafe, the component that they were most passionate about can be seen from even a walk down the sideway, local support.  

A stout man slowly steps through the shop as it sits on the corner of the block. He glides a straight line through the doorway to the barista's counter. Tiana smiles and greets the humbled man, "Hi dear, what can I do for you!"

"Just a blueberry muffin" he expresses gesturing his stubby finger toward the glass case lined with assorted pastries.

Glancing to her left she slides the case open when he interrupts "How long have you guys been open?" Her mahogany brown hair falls from her shoulder to her back as she turns to her right to acknowledge him again as he finishes, "I love the environment you have created here." 

She smiles her soft white smile and notices his navy blue "US Navy Veteran Hat" and she excites, "We just opened in 2021, and redid the cafe to make it more family friendly!" She reaches out and hands the muffin across the modern countertop covered in full with handwritten coffee flavors.

Grabbing the rounded white plate he smiles, and softly sits at one of the three barstools thanking her, "I'll be back soon." He places the muffin between his dried lips and looks above to the soft overhead lighting. Sweet old locals are the individuals that appreciate Fog and Flame even more so than coffee connoisseurs.

Intelligentsia Columbia Roast

Aesthetics is not the only factor the couple wants to include in making the shop their own as they swear by their heartfelt message behind their coffee. Originally out of Chicago, Intelligentsia is the coffee provider they chose. In hopes to "work with the craft coffee culture", Intelligentsia, a special coffee pioneer, strives to make each coffee a memorable experience in and of itself. The hard work does not stop after their work, as it comes through the doors of Fog and Flame. Chamberlin scratches his stubby face as he boasts, "It is never automatic or corporate, we use these brewing methods by hand in every cup." Each cup, served hot or iced,  uses its own extraction method and hand measured accounts. Selections of mouth watering coffee flavors include caramel, vanilla, hazelnut, lavender, coconut, maple spice, almond, pistachio, and rose, found on the chalk written boards on the counter. The couple also houses smoothies and baked granola, and features a variety of blends found at a glance behind the counter on a black and white letter board. In the future, they hope to expand their menu and while adding sandwiches and salads, still maintaining local support. 

Although a neighboring business can be found about a block away with a larger food menu, Chamberlin chuckles at the question attaining competition and shakes his head, "The more businesses in Bloomsburg, the better, we are happy with it." Looking around his filled cafe, he pushes up his skinny black framed glasses dressed in a navy collared shirt and white khaki shorts. As if you could hear the glide of the frames to his skin, the silence of the cafe filled the room. A pair of college aged women sat indulged in their laptop screens on the heather gray couch while sipping their fresh roast. Opposite to the students, a savvy young woman sat below an indented portion of the wall. Above her single table and trailing down the wall of Peter Grimord's art, hangs a perfectly positioned gallery of art, as she patiently enjoys her novel. Beyond the case of pastries, customers will find a rack of clothing positioned along the furthest wall from street view. All evenly spaced apart, the trending clothing hopes to continually set the business apart from others. Cloth & Alder, a small brand out of Danville, PA, is welcomed by the couple, as all of their proceeds go back to them. With a level of excitement in her voice, Tina gently steps toward the rack explaining, "We met their owner a few years ago and decided we wanted to help!" Have you ever set foot in a coffee shop that promotes other businesses aside from their own? The couple is simply trying to restore an old found love they had from growing up in the area, and now they have transformed the business from the inside the whole way back to the community. With stepping a foot through the glass door at Peter and Tianas cafe, visitors are flooded with the love and selflessness the two have toward those around them.