In the coming days, weeks and months, Bay Village will welcome a handful of new bars, restaurants and entertainment destinations. For this once-sleepy bedroom community, it seems that progress is seeping in from all sides.
You can now add Trust to the list. Opening in the next month or so, Trust Coffee is an all-day café with lofty ambitions. This new project comes from Mike Smith, the chef and owner of Thyme Table, which is still buzzing five years after he opened the doors. Located a half-mile down the road from Thyme, in the same shopping plaza as Wolf & Co., Trust is taking over the spot long held by Java Bay Coffee.
Smith says that he and his wife Tess have been attempting to open a local cafe for five years, including some major disappointments. In the end, however, those setbacks proved beneficial because the couple landed the perfect property. In addition to the former Java Bay spot, the Smiths were able to annex an adjacent storefront long home to Andy’s Shoe Repair, which doubled the space.
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But the true windfall in this situation, says Smith, was buried deep in the history of the property.
“At some point, like the `60s or `70s, there was a liquor store in that spot,” he explains. “So with the weird Bay Village rules, we were able to secure the last available liquor license in Bay. So we have a full liquor license in there.”
Opening bright and early, Trust Coffee will feature brews from Ohio City’s duck-rabbit, as well as some specialty coffee roasters from around the country. Thyme pastry chef Laura Jerina will prepare a selection of scones, cookies and muffins for a light breakfast. At midday, the café will transition to lunchtime fare, with salads, sandwiches and other items. Come happy hour, Trust will offer beer, wine and cocktails alongside café-style foods and desserts. The beverage program is being formulated by Eric Scott, partner and chief mixologist at Thyme.
The Smiths are working with Lakewood-based AoDK Architecture to create a charming interior that Tess describes as “a feminine twist on Thyme Table.”
To start, the plan is to lock the doors at 9 p.m. given the lack of late-night shenanigans in Bay but given the way things are developing in the neighborhood, those plans might shift.
“Yeah, that's going to be flexible,” Mike says. “With Deagan spots opening on either side of us, that traffic might push things later. It's been a lot of fun to see cool new things happening in Bay; it's a ‘rising tides raise all boats’ sort of thing.”
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