A couch and coffee table gives the coffee shop an at-home feel.
Grateful Roast Coffee opens in Clarks Summit
Barista and musician James Barrett.
An oat milk latte.
Grateful Roast Coffee in downtown Clarks Summit.
Grateful Roast Coffee’s dining room with local artworks displayed.
CLARKS SUMMIT – Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Brian Williams loved coffee as well as coffee-shop culture.
He decided to take this inspiration and bring it to Clarks Summit. He and his wife, Sarah Kratz, opened a coffee shop, Grateful Roast Coffee, in the former Kidazzle space in downtown Clarks Summit.
“I saw the need for an espresso program on State Street,” he said. “All the pieces were in place to make it a reality, so we did.”
Grateful Roast Coffee roast all their coffee creations. They use equipment from around the world. They use an old-school Turkish-shop roaster. For a cold brew, they make it from a brewer from Kyoto, Japan. They make lattes, including Brian’s personal favorite — vanilla oat milk latte — as well as many ice beverages. They also do pour-over and syphon coffees.
“I think it’s a requirement that if you’re from the Pacific Northwest that you love coffee,” said Brian. “Coffee has always been a part of my life. Naturally, the biggest part of my life is my family, which I am blessed to be running a coffee business with.”
Brian also has a team of baristas he calls ‘hyper-talented and creative’. Together, they create the indoor decorations themselves.
“We try to be creative with the tools we have access to,” said Brian.
James Barrett has been a barista at Grateful Roast Coffee since January 2022. He is also a local musician with a seven-piece band that plays alternative rock.
“This is a perfect job for me to balance music and work,” he said about working at the coffee shop.
Grateful Roast Coffee allows artworks from local artists to be displayed in the coffee shop.
“Our mission is to be a place for community,” said Brian. “We are a neighborhood coffee shop, so we would hope to be able to foster a positive community and support any artist as long as it adds a net-positive. We have a zero tolerance for hate, racism, homophobia, ableism, etc.”
Brian originally opened Grateful Roast Coffee in Nanticoke in 2016. He recently finished with a relocation in a new space in downtown Nanticoke. About the Clarks Summit location, Brian enjoys the building on State Street because of his neighbors – Katie and Samantha at Imagine NEPA, Donny at Sylvan Hair Studio and Erika at Sonder Day Spa.
“We love our neighbors in the building,” said Brian. “They all have great hearts and are all in it for the right reasons. Our building is absolutely rocking it.”
