EASTON, Pa. — ThreeBirds Coffee House is in the running to be named among the Top 10 best independent coffee shops in the country.
The Easton coffee shop landed among the 20 nominees for USA Today's 10Best Reader's Choice Awards — and the only nominee in Pennsylvania.
Voting ends at noon Monday, Oct. 7. Winners of USA Today's 10Best Reader's Choice Awards for best independent coffee shop will be announced Oct. 16.
USA Today described the coffee shop as "a 19th-century work of art, and a modern masterpiece in coffee preparation."
Co-owner Joseph Langdon said he and his wife, Jennifer Murray, found out after getting an email "out of the blue" that their coffee shop was nominated.
"Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts," USA Today's website says. "10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards."
After opening ThreeBirds Coffee Shop — at 226 Bushkill St., near Route 22 — just over five years ago, Langdon said the nomination felt "very validating" and "pretty exciting." The pair also own ThreeBirds Nest in the Easton Public Market.
"It's always been our dream to become a local institution," Langdon said. "And if we could get recognition beyond the Lehigh Valley, that's just extra."
The couple bought the historic property in 2018 and opened it in May 2019 after renovations.
'We are your home'
The coffee shop building previously was known as the Bull Mansion and, having been used as a home, the couple tried to maintain that feel amid their renovations, with personal touches such as the two birds Beetle, a Senegal parrot, and Dorian, an African Grey parrot, indoors.
"We liked people to hopefully come in and feel at home here as well," Langdon said.
And the homely interior plays into the ThreeBirds' slogan: "If coffee is your passion, we are your home."
Langdon also said with two birds inside the shop, the name can seem confusing to customers, "but we like to say the third bird is you."
The secret behind the coffee shop's success?
Langdon said he thinks it's a combination of the staff and the community, but the coffee — which the couple source from Passenger Coffee in Lancaster, Pa. — might have helped secure its nomination, too.
"We think our baristas are the best," Langdon said. "Our staff is phenomenal. I should say that that is another huge draw for us, is we've got great staff, talented, hard working, and a lot of them have been with us for for a while."
Since ThreeBirds announced the nomination on social media, Langdon said they've been "grateful" for their customers' support, whether it be from typical patrons or fellow local business owners.
"We feel really embraced by the community, which is something that is special, and I think, unique to this town."Joseph Langdon, co-owner of ThreeBirds Coffee House
Langdon described the feeling of support as "tremendous."
"We managed to survive COVID, and we've managed to survive, you know, little economic ups and downs, and, you know, the community has been really supportive," he said.
"I think Easton in particular is very supportive of local business. They're very supportive of the arts, and our shop has a little bit of crossover there.
"So we feel really embraced by the community, which is something that is special, and I think, unique to this town."
