By Gery Deer

Editor

(Shared with our partners at the Xenia Daily Gazette)

At Jamestown Café, customers are greeted by a welcoming smile, the smell of fresh coffee, baked treats, and comfort food, and an atmosphere that feels more like a home kitchen than a café. Behind the counter, the staff moves easily from customer to customer, greeting familiar faces and making newcomers feel just as welcome.

Along the wall, people linger over sandwiches, bakery items, ice cream, and specialty drinks, with photos and relics from more than two centuries of Jamestown’s history hanging just above their heads. The café opened in September, and the space feels new, but familiar — warm, relaxed and comfortable, like a place you’ve been invited to stay a while.

This is no ordinary coffee shop, and that feeling didn’t come from a design book or a business plan. It came from the heart, and figuring things out the hard way. Ashley Mannier is not what you’d expect when you picture a café owner — and neither is the path that led her to opening Jamestown Café. But the place, the people, and the story all seem like they were ripped from the script of a Hallmark movie.

When she bought the building, at 9 W. Washington St., Mannier didn’t know how to run a coffee shop. Years earlier, she hadn’t known how to remodel a house either. She was a single mom putting herself through college and barely scraping by financially. “I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck,” she says. “It was more like paycheck to Wednesday.”

Mannier took advantage of an Obama-era first-time homebuyer tax credit and was approved for a mortgage to buy a foreclosure, despite having little construction or remodeling experience, and with much of her family living overseas. So, she did what a lot of people do when they don’t know where to start: she went to YouTube. “I always joke that I graduated from YouTube University,” Mannier said.

That self-taught education—watching videos, learning by trial and error, and not being afraid to make mistakes—would later prove essential when she decided to turn an aging, long-vacant building on Washington Street into a place where the community could gather. Because for Mannier, the Jamestown Café was never just about coffee. It was about building something real, one lesson at a time, and it started with her family.

Built around 1900, the structure had lived several lives over the years — a shoe store, a tanning and nail salon, and other businesses — before sitting empty and neglected for far too long.

Inside, nearly everything needed attention. There was leaky, corroded plumbing, outdated electrical wiring, and damage from water and mold. It was the kind of project that can quickly overwhelm even experienced renovators. Mannier, however, wasn’t doing it on her own.

“It’s very expensive to do this kind of work,” she said. “I’m the oldest of ten kids, so I recruited my family to help out, and everyone had their role.” One brother helped with the architectural planning, while her brother-in-law and father built the café counter. “We did it all together.”

With help from village officials, neighboring business owners, her family, and the community, Mannier worked her way through the maze of permits, demolition, construction, and final occupancy. Even with that support, there were moments when the project felt overwhelming.

The challenges extended outside as well. “We rebuilt the entire front of the building,” Mannier said. “We jacked up the main beam and ripped everything out to put in new joists.”

Many of the café’s furnishings came from materials Mannier had collected over the years, often without knowing exactly how or where they would be used. Over time, those pieces found their place. “I’d had this front door for a while and didn’t know what to do with it,” she said. “But here, it’s perfect.”

Today, the brickwork and large front windows give the building a classic small-town look. The updates bring it squarely into the present while still honoring its past, much like the café itself. For longtime residents who remember the building in its earlier lives, the transformation is almost hard to believe. Their first reactions tend to be wide-eyed, followed by a slow smile.

Jamestown Café’s warmth isn’t just from a hot cup of coffee; it radiates from the crew behind the counter – including Kearra, Sarah, and Abbey – a group of employees who clearly enjoy being there. Their energy fills the space, turning a renovated building into something more than a café: a place that feels alive.

Nineteen-year-old Kearra Anthony was somewhat surprised when her parents decided to move from Jeffersonville to Jamestown, but she came with them.

“One of my friends got a job here first, and I’ve always wanted to work at a coffee shop,” Anthony said. “Ashley was up on a ladder tiling and gave me an interview.” She said the job is a perfect fit for her because, “I like people and I like being around people.”

Sarah Davidson, 31, is a stay-at-home parent who was looking for a flexible, part-time work option. The café was ideal: a woman-owned small business with a flexible schedule and a real sense of family.

Mannier told Davidson she was hiring some younger women and needed a “mom figure.” Davidson was sold. “I bring the mother energy, and I love it,” Davidson said, who is also the master blender behind all the café’s tea selections.

Abbey Yates is 19 and lives in Jamestown. “In May, I emancipated from foster care and moved into an apartment, and I was looking for employment,” Yates said. “I was walking downtown and noticed someone working inside and asked if they were hiring.” But it took a little more than that before she was brought aboard. “Abbey asked me for a job three different times,” Mannier said, smiling. “I’m so glad I hired her; she’s one of our best workers.”

Each of the women lights up when they talk about their work and Mannier. They exude such excitement and pride that it is apparent they have found a sense of purpose and family with Mannier and the café.  

Speaking of family, it wasn’t just the men in Mannier’s family who contributed to the business. Her mother, Jackie, plays a significant role in this endeavor too – she’s the café’s official baker. “A mother of ten, my mom was a little nervous to start this,” Mannier said. “But she’d been cooking for the masses for years, and her best skill is being a giving person.”

Mannier said her mom came to her and offered to help, and is now an invaluable part of the team. “She does all of the baked goods, and she’s always trying to come up with something new every week,” she said. “Fudge, cookies, muffins, cinnamon rolls – she does all of it and spends a lot of time researching all of it. And she loves being part of something bigger than herself. This place is glued together by what she’s doing, and it wouldn’t exist if she weren’t willing to be a part of it. I couldn’t do it without her.”

And the rest of the menu? That didn’t happen until a couple of weeks before they opened. From the outset, the concept was to keep it simple: café fare with homemade flair. At first, Mannier and her staff were learning the ropes together, how to use the equipment, which drinks to offer, and the best way to make them. But they’ve hit the old standards too – recently introducing a morning biscuits and gravy recipe that regularly sells out.

Public reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. First fueled by curiosity, the café is gaining a regular following and great reviews. “When we first opened, people were really excited,” Yates said. “There weren’t really like good sitting places, and now there are people who are coming in every day, we get to know them.”

What’s next for Jamestown Café? According to Mannier, more of the same, keeping with her original vision. “We have space in the back, and we’re going to put a patio area back there,” she explained. “And I want to continue to work more with other downtown building owners and local businesses to keep doing more to bring people down here.”

Right from the beginning, Mannier envisioned Jamestown Café to be all about offering her community a routine, a third place. It has become exactly that, and it’s run by Jamestown residents who believe their customers are much more than just a coffee order. They’re family.

For more information visit the shop. Check out their Facebook page for regular posts on hours and specials.

Gallery – Photos by Gery Deer (unless otherwise noted)