New Coffee Shop, Bookstore Opening In Ardmore

ARDMORE, PA — Ardmore's shopping and food and drink establishments is always shifting and growing. Now, a new coffee shop-bookstore hybrid is opening its doors on Lancaster Avenue.

The Story, located at 45 E. Lancaster Ave., is open to the public for a soft Thursday and plans to have a grand opening weekend Friday.

To celebrate opening weekend, The Story is offering a "buy one, get one" coupon during opening day for use any time before Oct. 13. The Story is also offering a 10 percent discount for students, teachers, military, and law enforcement officers.

Located in the former 843 VFW outpost, The Story will feature coffee from Sightglass and Methodical, and a simple menu of classic coffee beverages and pastries.

Sightglass Coffee is based in San Francisco, California and Methodical Coffee is out of Greenville, South Carolina.

The menu is a simple menu of classic coffee beverages and pastries, including Espresso, Cortado, Cappuccino, Latte, Drip Coffee, Tea, Chai and More.

For book lovers, The Story has an extensive collection of used and new books – a curated collection of classic stories, history, biographies, religious texts, poetry, and culture. The fiction section features classics, poetry, and stories of hope.

Proceeds from The Story will support organizations in the greater Philly area and Delaware County who are seeking to help people who are in a difficult chapter of their own stories. Info about those partnerships is coming soon.

The Story is presented with support from Calvary Chapel of Delaware County in Ardmore, a non-denominational church that meets in Ardmore on Sunday evenings. Those church parishioners wanted to create a space for the Ardmore community to enjoy coffee, books, and conversation.

The coffee shop and bookstore are open to all who seek great coffee, a relaxing environment, and a welcoming place to unwind.

"The Story is a place where our stories intersect for a day or forever, where strangers become friends, ideas become realities, creativity flourishes, and questions find answers," Anna Walker-Roberts, Founder of The Story, said. "So grab a cappuccino, a book, and a seat at our table to see how the story unfolds!"

Walker-Roberts and the other owners took the former outpost and renovated it with thrifted, repurposed and donated decor that all hold hundreds of years of history - including the 1893 Schomacker & Co. piano, the circa 1923 bar chairs, the custom lion-head bar from a local mansion, the book wall with chapters unfolding above the plush vintage lounger - and the feature wall designed and hand-papered by Carissa Robinson from Creator Studio in Philly.

All of these items share something in common: Just when it seemed like their story was over and they would be thrown out, they were hand picked to be a central character in The Story.

"There’s just something magical about all these discarded, broken, imperfect things coming together to make something beautiful that captures the heart of The Story," Walker-Roberts said.

Hours for The Story are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays, and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, call 610-649-1235 or visit The Story's website here.