Giggles filled the air at Bear Roots cafe in Washington Township as Chrissy Klingensmith pushed her 1-year-old future granddaughter, Hadley, through the shop in a wheeled office chair.
It was a small moment, but one that perfectly captured the family spirit behind the business.
The cafe, which opened last March, is the result of a Murrysville family blending their individual passions into one shared venture: offering homemade baked goods, coffee and rustic handcrafted decor — much of it made by family members.
Klingensmith, 45, her fiance, Craig Barrowcliff, and his daughter, Rylee Dallo, purchased the building in January 2024 and began converting its 1,800 square feet from a dental practice into their dream country-themed cafe.
“We’re all kind of rustic people, and we all kind of have the same touch,” said Dallo, 26.
The cafe, located at 4573 Route 66, is split into two sections. Half of the space contains an order counter, pastry display case and a handful of two-person tables for dining. The other half serves as a shop containing hand-poured candles, wooden home decor and country-themed chotchkes.
Barrowcliff, 49, who handles the woodworking for the decor sold in the cafe, also designed some of the space’s cosmetic features, including wooden sliding barn doors and wooden paneling to keep the rustic aesthetic flowing throughout the space.
“We do have a different look than everybody else,” Dallo said. “We try to make it home here, rather than (a place) you just feel like you can’t sit down.”
Bear Roots serves breakfast Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7 to 10:30 a.m.
The cafe’s menu includes a selection of sandwiches, burritos and pastries — all made by Dallo, who learned to bake at 4 years old from her grandmother.
Dallo prides herself on the freshness of the food. Though the business is closed on Mondays, Barrowcliff said Dallo still can be found in the kitchen baking the day away.
While the menu options mostly remain consistent throughout the year, Bear Roots does offer seasonal drinks, which are advertised on social media.
Over the holiday season, 30-year-old Kaely Frassenei, the only non-family member on the Bear Root’s staff, made caramel cookie butter lattes, frosted gingerbread chai lattes and peppermint mocha frappes.
All the syrups for Bear Roots’ specialty drinks are homemade.
“Right now we have a Twix latte special and a cinnamon roll latte special, and both of those are housemade syrups,” Dallo said.
Brittany Ellis, 30, of Apollo, comes to Bear Roots at least once a week before heading to work and orders the loaded breakfast burrito.
“Honestly, I love the vibe,” Ellis said, after grabbing her morning coffee last week. “I love the layout in here and the little country vibe that it has.”
Besides the food, one of the reasons Ellis keeps coming back to Bear Roots is the staff.
“I used to be a Starbucks kind of coffee snob,” she said. “A co-worker once said to me about going local — he was like ‘Oh, those big chains don’t need your money.’ ”
On TikTok, Bear Roots has more than 300 followers. It frequently features Dallo, Barrowcliff, Klingensmith and Frassenei, of Saltsburg, participating in social media trends. Ellis said it has made them recognizable to the Apollo community.
Bear Roots has a handful of decor items available to purchase on bearrootscafe.com.
Not long after New Year’s Day, Klingensmith had already begun making stock ahead of Valentine’s Day.
“I listen to my customers. I listen to things that they like, things that they want, things that they would like to see in the future,” Klingensmith said.
“We’re very grateful, very thankful that people came in, and it is really heartwarming to see everybody.”