New coffee shop to open on South Elm Street

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A new business will be opening in Washington Court House with a focus on “well-crafted beverages” such as fresh, roasted coffee and loose leaf teas.

The new business is called “Orion Coffee and Tea” and is owned by a couple from Xenia.

The Washington Court House location will be the third location to be opened, according to co-owner Eric Irwin. Other locations include Cedarville and a drive-thru in Jamestown. The building will be located on South Elm Street across from Washington High School and Middle School.

Sharayah Irwin, co-owner of Orion and spouse of Eric, explained via email, “We purchased our first location at the end of 2018 in Cedarville, and that has been a great experience where we learned the ins and outs of the coffee world. It was a slower year in 2020 due to COVID shutting down the college there, but we’re looking forward to 2021. Our second location is a drive-thru we opened in Jamestown one year ago this month, and that really opened our eyes to how well a coffee shop can do in a small town, especially with the convenience of a drive-thru. Everyone wants good coffee, no matter where you live! It has been a fantastic first year there and influenced our decision to include a drive-thru in our Washington C.H. location.”

The reason for choosing Washington C.H. as the third location is due to Sharayah being from the area.

“I grew up in Court House and some of my family still lives there, so I’m very familiar with the town,” wrote Sharayah. “Several of our past and current baristas are also from Washington C.H., and they’ve been telling us for ages that a quality coffee shop and drive-thru would do well in the community. So here we are!”

Once they open locally, Sharayah estimates at least 12 baristas will be hired, baristas currently working at other locations who live in Washington C.H. will probably transfer to work locally, and that starting pay will be $8.80 per hour plus tips.

So far, Orion has done so well that the Irwins decided to open a roastery in Springfield, according to Sharayah.

“We needed more room to keep up with our coffee demands. That is currently not open to the public but will soon be available for retail purchases of our coffee and for community coffee and tea classes,” she explained.

There is no concrete timeframe for when the Washington C.H. location will be opening.

“2020 threw quite a wrench in our construction efforts — we’ve run into many more delays than we anticipated, and it’s been challenging,” wrote Sharayah. “If we can get over our current construction hurdle, we will be working to open in the next 2 months.”

Once open, the menu includes coffees, teas, muffins and bagels.

”We roast our own coffee fresh every week and use high quality coffee beans and loose leaf teas, so we are very proud of our menus. We enjoy bringing specialty drinks to smaller communities — it’s fun getting to know your customers and offering an alternative to big chain coffee shops,” she explained. “We bake muffins in-house and get amazing bagels from a little bagel shop down in Cincinnati.”

“We’ve had many people asking about our Washington C.H. location and encouraging us through the roller coaster of 2020, and we appreciate the support. We’re so excited to be serving the community soon,” wrote Sharayah. “We love how a well crafted beverage can bring people together, help them relax or brighten someone’s day.”

For more information, the business website can be visited at www.orioncoffeeandtea.com/.

Reach journalist Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.

A new business, Orion Coffee and Tea, will be opening this year in Washington C.H. The building is located on South Elm Street across from Washington High School and Middle School.
https://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2021/01/web1_20201231_151206.jpgA new business, Orion Coffee and Tea, will be opening this year in Washington C.H. The building is located on South Elm Street across from Washington High School and Middle School. Jennifer Woods | Record-Herald photo

By Jennifer Woods

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