His Place Coffee, Community and More brings TV set to the real world
Jill Thurston/For the Observer-Reporter
Order up at the His Place counter
Jill Thurston/For the Observer-Reporter
The interior of His place is airy, spacious and modern
Jill Thurston/For the Observer-Reporter
Employees Shecarriye Greshan, Sianna Feliciano, owner Lisa Lyons and Gia Cinque check on an order
Courtesy of His Place
Breakfast and lunch sandwiches are on the His Place menu
Courtesy of His Place
His Place is located at Third and Donner in Monessen
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Lisa Lyons and her son, Alex, a barista, helped launch an upscale coffee shop in downtown Monessen called His Place in September.
Courtesy of His Place
Avocado toast is a popular offering at His Place
His Place offers baked goods to accompany the coffee
Courtesy of His Place
Soups are also on the menu for lunch
Courtesy of His Place
Upcoming events are posted on the His Place happenings wall
The interior of His place is airy, spacious and modern
The interior of His place is airy, spacious and modern
Jill Thurston/For the Observer-Reporter
Frequent customer Orest Cieply enjoys a bite to eat
Jill Thurston/For the Observer-Reporter
Coffee shop manager Lisa Lyons
By Jill Thurston
His Place in Monessen isn’t your traditional coffee shop. There’s more than just a cup of joe and a friendly hello.
“We are here to bring light and hope. People need that,” said Lisa Lyons, who manages the coffee shop that opened in September. She’s also the director of outreach ministries for Christian Center Church in Rostraver, the owner of His Place. It’s a natural extension of their services to have the coffee shop in Monessen; the church has partnered with the community in the past.
Lyons admits she never really liked the taste of coffee, but when pastor Tim Burgan of Chrisitan Center Church had a dream to open the coffee shop, she knew God was calling her to be involved.
Lyons and the church volunteers are purposeful in bringing multiple outreach services to the coffee shop for the community at little or no charge, including a “pay it forward” coffee board where patrons can donate a cup of coffee for those who can’t afford to purchase one.
Inside the red-brick former municipal building, the shop has a trendy, contemporary feel, with high ceilings and arched windowed garage-style doors that can open to the sidewalk. A bonus back room is ideal for programming with a multi-windowed garage door that can separate it from the main dining room area for storytime or other programs.
“People come into the coffee shop and say, ‘what is this doing here? It should be in Lawrenceville, or South Side or Shadyside,’ and that’s what I wanted when we designed it. I felt the people of Monessen deserved that, to have something just as nice as any other part of the city,” Burgan said.
Monessen may not be Lawrenceville or South Side, but there are those invested in seeing the area thrive.
According to Lyons, several area churches work hand-in-hand with them. There are also thriving partnerships with the Monessen Library, Community that Cares, Family Center, Westmoreland Diapers, Beverley’s Birthday, Washington City Mission, the local school district and chamber of commerce.
Designed to be a gathering spot for the community, the coffee shop is a center for meeting and learning, a place to feel accepted and be encouraged. Tacked to the wall are advertisements for the enrichment that takes place there, most at no cost: Story Time the second Thursday of the month when parents can also benefit by building relationships, tutoring on Monday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. led by volunteers from the church and the community, Knit Whits knitting group on Monday mornings, Wholly Fit’s Mommy and Me class that meets on Tuesdays offering exercise and nutrition instruction (there is a small fee for this class to cover equipment). Lyons said they plan to partner with the Physical Therapy Institute of Monessen, Brainworx, and Mon Valley EMS for additional programming this year.
Podcast listeners can hear The Valley Sports Guys (MVI Live) program and Live, Love, Laugh, Pray and Inspire with Jamie Protin, who use the coffee shop for their on-air home.
On any given day, you can see students from the nearby Douglas Education Center, regulars like Monessen resident Orest Cieply, whose son Wally volunteers at His Place, moms with small children stopping for coffee and folks using a table as their desk away from the office.
“During our time in Monessen, we have made so many connections and have gotten to love on people, pray with them and be part of their journey,” Lyons said in her first annual report to the church.
“The people of the Mon Valley to me are some of the most gracious, loving, hard-working people in the world. They just need someone to believe in them again,” Burgan said.
He should know. He’s from the Mon Valley. “I have plenty of roots here. My grandfather worked in the Donora mill, as did my uncles,” he said. Like his father, he worked at the Clairton mill while earning college money. He’s been to more than 110 countries worldwide, working in developing nations. “In the process, I thought, ‘if I can do this, I can come back to the Mon Valley and do the same thing.’ I can help the hurting, the hopeless, those people that are in need of just knowing that they can have a better, brighter future,” he said.
His Place has its roots in a locally produced television program by the same name hosted by Burgan on Cornerstone Television for 15 years. Set in a diner, the show featured a broad spectrum of topics discussed by the cast each week as the camera and audience “listened in.” The show and now the coffee shop are both named for the Almighty. Burgan has carried this vision since the early days of the television show when he said people would call to ask where the diner was located. “We would tell them it’s not real. It’s a TV studio. People were really bummed. They wanted to go to a real place,” he said.
Three years ago, the Christian Center Church purchased the former municipal building, and the transformation to a coffee shop began.
“I love the Mon Valley. My vision is to bring hope to broken communities. We aren’t all of the answer, but we are part of the answer to the problem. And I believe if everybody that feels like they can be part of the answer decides to be part of the answer, we can turn the Mon Valley around again,” said Pastor Tim.
His Place is located at Third and Donner in Monessen. Visit hisplacecoffee.com for more information on selections and programs.