Anchor and Anvil Coffee Bar

Since buying the former “Fire Escape” coffeehouse in 2014, Owners Andrew Theobald and his wife Tracy designed Anchor and Anvil as a community gathering space with handmade food, responsibly sourced coffee and unique flavors.

“That’s the whole idea behind the name,” Theobald says. “A blacksmith makes everything by hand using an Anvil; and the shop is meant to be an Anchor in the community. Corporate businesses are all about creating mass-produced scales. And you just don’t get the individual flavor and community that you do in local shops."

Anchor and Anvil employs a local staff, buys local products when possible and otherwise supports small businesses. Their staff consists of students from the nearby Avonworth and Northgate School Districts; meat products come from Parma Sausage, and bread from Breadworks. In the winter, Anchor and Anvil serves chili from a Beaver County farm.

As for the coffee, it comes from Mad Cap Coffee, a small, high-quality roaster in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"Mad Cap works with directly with farm and mill owners and the company is transparent about the whole process. Their product is a good as anybody's in the industry," Theobald says.

Prior to starting Anchor and Anvil, Theobald worked 10 years in real estate settlement. "When I looked at what I enjoyed doing, it was interacting with people -- not being in an office.  I had recently gotten into high-end coffee and my wife suggested I do this,” he says. Within the first few months of buying the coffee house, the couple changed almost everything; from the “Fire Escape” coffee house name, to menu items, seating arrangements, vendors and aesthetics. 

The shop now serves as a coffeehouse and community gathering space. Activities include a Friday morning knitting group, sports team meetings, environmental groups, and the coffee bar is even set to host a wedding next year.

The Hear Me Kiosk is the latest addition to Anchor and Anvil, receiving 280 plays in just the first 2 months. It features stories from Hear Me's Fair Funding Campaign and is sponsored by the statewide Campaign for Fair Education Funding.

Listen to Anchor and Anvil's featured stories:

12-year-old Allie "Why art funding is important"

For more information about Anchor and Anvil, visit anchoranvilcoffee.com. 

For more information about the Campaign for Fair Education Funding, visit fairfundingpa.org

To listen to stories from Hear Me's Fair Funding Campaign, visit hear-me.net/portfolios/233.