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Monthly Archives: November 2023

Hometowne Cafe

It’s interesting how sometimes misadventure can lead to adventure and then to misadventure and back again. Such was my trip northward to Hometowne Cafe in Herndon, Pennsylvania. Everyone in the Central PA microverse has heard of Herndon, but few others have. It lies just barely across the northern border of Dauphin County in neighboring Northumberland. Like most of these small Pennsylvania towns, food is the major industry and few big events take place. One or two main streets and a civil building or two define the aging yet cozy downtown. Herndon, you see, has yet to be gentrified, despite its proximity to the capital region. As such, it’s kept most of its character from Pennsylvania coal days. I managed to find one fascinating exception.

Hometowne Cafe is situated right at the intersection of two main roads, one of them being the venerable Route 147. There was even a band called “Take 147” that graced many a barroom stage back in the day. The coffeehouse is also seated upon an intersection you’ve probably noticed several times in recent posts: the meeting of agrarian tradition and modernity. Hometowne is yet another coffee spot run by Amish/Mennonite folk. In other words, the revolution in rural coffee continues unabated.

The cafe opened during the same time frame as many of the others, too. This May, it will have been two years since the owners took the leap and created this little bistro. Interestingly, I noticed the exact same juxtaposition of rural custom and urban culture present in many of the other establishments. There were the standard coffeehouse trappings of streamlined architecture and cozy seating. Signs in cursive were there, as well. Some of them, however, were Bible verses, and the baristas were modestly adorned and unfailingly polite. In all of these explorations, it’s been rare to find an operation that indulged in ‘country’ kitsch. This one certainly didn’t. A lack of kitsch and camp implies an earnestness within the scene. That’s a green flag.

Notable aside: The cafe itself is located within a shared zone. They rent the space in which their kiosk, drive-thru, and internal cafe seating rest. A grocery company called Ridgeview Foods owns the surrounding edifice which is a massive grocery store. There’s an emphasis on fresh foods here. Fresh vegetables lined one wall and there was an abundance of preserved meat in home-packaged bags. None of this is surprising in Northumberland County. It’s why I come to Northumberland County.

I can’t really describe the coffee itself as ‘unremarkable,’ even though I didn’t mentally remark upon it as I took that first swig. I would, instead, say that it was difficult to take the measure of. It was a breakfast blend, and I rarely drink those. A bit too light for my liking. That said, I gave the drink a second swig, and that’s when the nice little nutty flavor in the background came out to play. In retrospect, any darker and the blend might have been cloying. It really was fine breakfast fare. I really need to try one of those darker, denser offerings, though! Where exactly this brew originated proved something of a mystery. Nobody who worked there seemed to know. It’s clearly proprietary since the Hometowne Cafe label was affixed to the front. It must be a pretty tight secret. Who can blame them for keeping a few of those; after all, as we’ve seen, the rural coffee scene is getting competitive.

On the way home is where the misadventure happened. Well, okay, the misadventure started when I wasn’t able to attend a family event (mapping the route was how I noticed this cafe in the first place). The misadventure did, however, escalate as soon as I got back on the road back to Harrisburg. The last photo you’ll see below was taken from the parking lot of the fire company. After taking that pic, I started up my car and noticed the check engine light was on. Uh oh. I figured I’d get as many miles in as I could before the engine gave out. It never gave out. Somehow, the thing survived the trip through the rolling terrain. I thank God, the gods, and maybe an ancestor or two for bringing me home without incident. Someone was looking out for me.

There were a lot of fascinating sights to see up on these hills, though, both coming and going. Hence, a warning. This post is pretty photo-heavy. Scroll at your leisure. The car is misbehaving again obviously, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make my oft-teased foray into Huntingdon County until after the holidays. We are going there soon, though, rest assured of that. Until next time, stay caffeinated.