New Year, New Jitters In Melrose

If you've been to Jitters on Main Street near Pine Banks lately, you might notice something different. Patch caught up with owner Tim LaPrade who got us up to speed on the changes.

Q - What prompted this change?

Tim - We've been here for over 6 years now. With the high foot traffic, and the New England winters, our flooring and seating take a lot of wear and tear.

We felt if we were going to change anything, we should do it all at once and start fresh.

Q - How long did it take? I understand it was a pretty quick turnaround.

Tim - Leading up to the remodel, it took a couple months. I had to buy wood and build the tables and make sure my first sample would hold up inside the restaurant. Ordering furniture usually has a 3-4 week lead time as well, so these plans were in the works for a while.

The actual remodel only took 2 days. The first day I was lucky enough to have so many helping hands get the painting done in one day. My wife, Jenna, our families, friends, and Jitters' regulars stopped by that day to lend a hand. I stayed overnight with the flooring crew and we got most of that done by the next morning. The second day consisted of more regulars, and my manager, Eduardo, spending the day with me and finishing the flooring as well as setting up all of the new tables and decor.

Q - What's different - both in the layout and in the general 'feel' of things?

Tim - We wanted to keep the same warm feeling of a comfortable coffee house. Jenna and I chose to go with the same paint colors in our own dining room at home. With the paint colors picked out we had to coordinate new flooring, furniture and all new wall art to bring the room together. We've seen a lot more customers bringing in their laptops and working from Jitters, or having meetings here. We thought it would be best to get rid of the booths and accommodate more to the needs of these customers. Adding more smaller tables allows for more customers to have a seat and not be forced to take up a whole booth as they work on their laptop for the day.

Q - I know you got some new baked goods in 2018. Can you talk about those? And what does 2019 have in store for Jitters?

Tim - Our new baked goods have been our best selling items for months now. These are all thanks to Craig Williams of Williams Family Baking. He was gracious enough to work the summer with us and let us hold on to his recipes. We now bake scones, chocolate chip cookies and double fudge brownies, all from scratch. We bake them off daily and usually sell out so we can start the next day with a new fresh batch. If a customer seems like they can't decide on what to eat, we urge them to try one of our new baked goods and after a couple bites, they concur and ask us to bag a couple more up for their friends or family.

As for 2019, there's nothing too drastic. 2018 took all of the big projects, from the expanded baked goods to the complete remodel. Having such a small kitchen and grill area, it's hard for us to really expand our menu.

Our focus in 2019 is going to be geared towards consistency, speed, and friendliness. We want every customer to be treated the same, in a timely manner, and getting the same exact item no matter which staff member is making it for them. We want everyone to know that when they place an order on our app, on the phone, or they're running late to work, they can expect a perfect sandwich or coffee and be happy they made the right choice of swinging by.

Our small business depends on our regulars and new customers to find out about us so this year's primary goal is to make sure they're all happy and we continue to stay busy.

Courtesy photos