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Date: 8/8/2023
NORTHAMPTON — A new coffee shop called The Zen Frog opened at the beginning of July on 90 Maple St. in Florence Village.
Michele Ruschhaupt, the owner of The Zen Frog, described the new place as a local community spot that offers coffee, tea, Italian sodas and pastries from a few local bakeries in the area — like Woodstar Café.
The shop also offers other goods like lamps and candles.
“We’re here to serve the community,” Ruschhaupt told Reminder Publishing at the new shop.
The majority of the coffee served is local, according to Ruschhaupt, and the shop uses what is called a “ground control cyclops” to batch brew their espresso, ice coffee and regular coffee.
“It’s an amazing machine,” Ruschhaupt said. “It makes excellent coffee.”
This is Ruschhaupt’s first time opening a coffee shop but it is not her first time owning a business. She said she used to have a textbook production company before selling it about five years ago. After living down the street for a little bit, she caught wind that the building at 90 Maple was being restored.
“I just wanted to do something for the community,” said Ruschhaupt. “We have Tandem Bagel Company and the Florence Pie Bar, Wild Chestnut Café and Florence Diner, but there’s not just a regular coffee shop around here.”
Ruschhaupt said that she likes how the owners of the building are keeping the spot as original as possible in many areas, including maintaining the old tin on the ceiling of the shop.
“I just love how they’re not gutting everything to put up sheetrock,” Ruschhaupt said.
The name of the shop is inspired by an old story called “The Zen Frog” which Ruschhaupt said comes from her experience studying akido, a modern Japanese martial art form.
There is a section of the coffee shop that has the story of The Zen Frog for those interested in learning more about it.
“When I read the story on it, I really thought it would be a cool name,” she said.
Ruschhaupt said her immediate future goals include providing a spot for people to build community and meeting with other surrounding business owners to see how they can work together.
The Zen Frog is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.