With the closings of major anchor stores at Heights Plaza in Harrison and the loss of traffic, the owner of Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates has chosen to reimagine the second location she opened there under three years ago.
Desiree Singleton announced Sunday that her Heights Plaza cafe on Union Avenue will become an event space, while her original location on Corbet Street in Tarentum will again be open on Sundays.
“It’s something that has to happen now so we can stay afloat,” Singleton said.
Singleton started Harvest Moon in Tarentum in 2020, just as the covid pandemic was beginning. She opened the second location in Harrison in November 2023.
The closures of Big Lots and Community Market at Heights Plaza had a significant impact on Harvest Moon. Singleton said her sales were down 10% in 2025, and have been down another 20% this year.
“The numbers aren’t there anymore for keeping it fully staffed every day,” she said. “The lot used to be filled with hundreds of cars. Now those people aren’t coming to that part of the plaza anymore. The traffic count has lowered tremendously.”
Mother’s Day was the last day for Harvest Moon as it was in Harrison. Beginning Friday, it will be open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays only for live music, which Singleton said she has booked into December.
More food and dinner options will be available for those nights, she said.
Harvest Moon started hosting live music in the fall of 2024.
“The music has been so popular,” Singleton said, adding that if it becomes more of draw she could expand it to two nights a week.
Otherwise, the Harrison cafe will become an event space for baby and bridal showers, birthday parties, meetings and workshops, Bible studies and small groups, community gatherings and private events and celebrations.
Singleton said she was getting many inquiries about having events at the Harrison location, which she was not always able to accommodate with her regular cafe hours.
She is also looking at holding makers markets in the space, car shows and a farmers market.
“We definitely don’t view this as a failure or a bad thing,” she said. “We’re just positioning ourselves a different way and going to try this out. I think the community will enjoy utilizing our space.”
The change at Harrison means the original cafe in Tarentum will return to being open on Sundays, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Tarentum spot has been closed on Sundays for two months. The new Sunday hours begin May 17.
“People were very sad when we closed down there on Sunday,” Singleton said. “A lot of our employees go to church on Sundays. I never had a full staff for both locations.”
On weekdays the Tarentum location is open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Saturdays, the hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The hours may be extended if there is a need, Singleton said.