Seeking a sense of community is what got April Zeolla, owner and operator of Novo Café in Arnold, into the coffee business.
And a community is what she found.
“I’ve always loved just any way to gather people in a room,” Zeolla said. “This is the best way to gather people and serve people and encourage people and just be part of their day-to-day lives.”
As the concept of “third spaces” — places outside the home and work environments where people gather — becomes more commonplace, coffee shops create a model for how gathering places are also strong economic anchors, especially in small towns.
Outside of Pittsburgh’s dense urban center, suburban economies have their own ecosystems.
In Westmoreland County, coffee shops are a symbol of economic prosperity and often spur traffic to other local businesses, county Chamber of Commerce President Dan DeBone said.
“Coffee shops are more than just places to grab a drink,” DeBone said. “They’re informal community hubs that help drive economic activity and bring people together. When you see a strong, well-supported coffee shop, it’s often a signal that a community is growing, connected and open for business.”
In the Alle-Kiski Valley, independently owned shops such as Steel Cup Coffee Roasters in New Kensington and Harvest Moon Cafe in Tarentum and Harrison have enjoyed a corner on the market.
But more often, locally owned shops are facing competition from large, national chain coffee purveyors. Last year, Starbucks stores opened in New Kensington and Allegheny Township.
While franchise and independently owned coffee shops have different financial effects and community-oriented goals, both play a part in a larger business ecosystem of suburban and rural areas — and both might be fodder for thriving economies.
According to the National Coffee Association’s 2023 coffee impact report, U.S. consumers spend about $301 million a day on coffee-related goods, equaling about $110 billion a year.
About $32.9 billion of that is at coffee shops.
The coffee market makes up about 8% of the U.S. food service sector, 1.3% of the overall economy and about $343 billion in economic output, the report shows.
It also creates about $38 billion in federal, state and local taxes, according to the report.
Local economic caffeinators
Suburban and rural areas typically have a larger number of independently owned coffee shops than franchises.
Westmoreland County has between 40 and 60 coffee shops, about 25 of which are independently owned, DeBone said.
The distinction between suburban and rural areas is important when gauging economic drivers, said Deb Brown, a rural economic development consultant and co-founder of SaveYour.Town.
“While suburban (areas) may have a smaller population, generally, they have other options for coffee shops — it’s not the only coffee shop in town, and that makes a difference,” Brown said. “Rural coffee shops often are the ecosystem.”
She said, while rural is often defined by residents of the area, she typically classifies it as a town with a population of 10,000 or less.
Independent coffee shops often promote local wealth-building more than franchises because they reinvest in community events, organizations and fundraisers, Brown said.
“Our neighborhood staples like the coffee shops and the local barber shops, they keep that money circulating locally,” Brown said.
Money spent at independent companies is two to four times more likely to recirculate in the community in the form of local supplies purchases, business services, wages and community donations, according to an American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) report on data compiled by consulting firm Civic Economics.
“By (a) business owner buying more locally, they’re actually cultivating more jobs at the place that they’re shopping locally,” said AMIBA Director of Operations Jennifer Risley.
Independent shops will often also stock baked goods, art or other wares from other local shops and creators, further stimulating local businesses, Brown said.
New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said local coffee shops draw people to the business district and act as destination hubs.
“Steel Cup Coffee Roasters in our downtown offers space for people to meet, connect and share ideas over a great cup of coffee,” Guzzo said. “One of the other major factors is the role they play in our local economic development. … They are an active part of the community in both partnering with local events as well as selling items from other downtown businesses.”
On the consumer end, DeBone said the foot traffic created by coffee shops, especially those in downtown areas, is a benefit to surrounding businesses.
“Customers will rarely make just one stop,” he said.
A central, walkable business district was a must for Tommy Medley when he and business partner Amber Kunselman opened The White Rabbit Café and Pâtisserie in Greensburg.
Though downtown Greensburg wasn’t originally on Medley’s radar, that’s where the shop ended up in 2013 and has since thrived, Medley said.
“A big portion of the customers who come in do come in specifically because they want to keep their money locally,” Medley said. “Greensburg is one of those communities that was really trying to revitalize itself, and people know the best way to do that is the circularity of money spending.”
Medley said he feels coffee shops are often the first step for a rebounding local economy.
“I think tattoo shops and coffee shops are your two first ones to go in,” he said. “For coffee shops, they tend to be really community centered — the meeting place, the trope of the third place is real — but I think that they’re actually more important than (that).”
Franchises like Starbucks still have a slice of the economic pie and are eyeing business moves outside of urban areas.
A 2024 Columbia Business School study found opening a Starbucks in a place that didn’t previously have a coffee shop boosted local entrepreneurship by almost 12%.
And they still pay local taxes, DeBone said.
“Whether you’re locally owned or whether you’re franchise owned, you’re here and you’re supporting our local economy,” DeBone said.
By 2028, Starbucks intends to open about 400 U.S. company-operated stores and 150 to 200 additional U.S. licensed stores, according to a January transcript of the company’s investor day, a conference where the company answers investor questions and does presentations on its growth plans.
In 2023, it was reported by digital media site The Food Institute that Starbucks was seeking growth in more rural areas.
Part of the chain’s growth strategy is creating a welcoming sit-down experience inside its coffeehouses, according to the investor day transcript.
It stated that between December 2025 and the end of January 2026, about 60% of customers ordered inside the store rather than drive-thru or mobile, signaling a desire for customers to connect with the space.
“If you walk into a place and the place is vibrant, it’s connected to the community, people clearly are connected to both the baristas and each other, you feel really different about that cup of coffee. So that’s why the café is so important and it’s such a point of difference,” Brian Niccol, chairman and CEO, said on the transcript.
‘Community living room’
Coffee shops find their success because they are a gathering space, and local spots benefit from building long-term community connections, DeBone said.
“(Customers) keep coming back because they’re supporting small businesses,” he said. “They often meet and see other people, and that’s what really continues to help build and make up the communities we have in Westmoreland County.”
Risley said consumers might lean toward shopping local for their daily cup of Joe because of those relationships.
“They’re the meeting space, the office, the visitor center, the bulletin board. They’re everything,” Risley said.
According to Dripos, an internal software company for independent coffee shops, searches for “local coffee shops near me” are up 163% year over year. Dripos gathered its data through Google search analytics.
“I think there’s a broader sentiment in the world right now on supporting local businesses,” Dripos CEO Jake Pawlik said.
Most of Dripos’ customers are independent coffee shops in small towns.
Pawlik said independent shops still can draw inspiration from chains, such as developing mobile ordering or visually pleasing menus. But, he said, there is strength in being small.
“Where they really win is capitalizing on being that local business and giving a cool interaction at the register,” Pawlik said.
Medley estimated about 40% of The White Rabbit’s business is from lingering customers.
“Our space is big. It encourages more in-house traffic, more hangouts,” Medley said. “I think Greensburg definitely needed something like us and so they took to us immediately.”
Back in Arnold, Novo Café has a drive-thru and indoor seating, but the shop mostly gets walk-in business, Zeolla said.
The naturally lit and colorfully decorated space on Freeport Road is a regular meeting ground for families, friends and business meetings, she said.
“I thought for sure that drive-thru was going to be our biggest revenue, and it’s not,” she said.
Zeolla said she hopes to continue to strengthen the shop’s role in the community.
“I’m looking for ways to lock arms with all of the other coffee shops in the area. I haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet,” she said. “It has been exciting and wonderful to be part of a community that is revitalizing itself.”