Wired Beans owner: ‘ I want the cafe to be a community place.’

It’s been less than a week since Wired Beans Café opened its second location in Germantown, but already the independent coffee shop seems to be cultivating an eager base of customers.

On Thursday morning, Jeff Garis and Bob Prevedi sat at a table near the business’ front entrance on Chelten Avenue.

With an iced coffee before him, Garis said he’d been “anxiously” waiting for Wired Beans to open.

After several months worth of renovations, the cafe, part of Chelten Plaza, had its soft opening on Saturday. The grand opening is scheduled for July 14.

” I want to support locally owned businesses and until now we haven’t had any coffee shops in this area,” said Garis, a Germantown resident. ” My wife cried tears of joy when she heard this place was opening.”

Mt. Airy resident Bob Prevedi, who works from home, was similarly excited about the shop opening. He said he ” likes to get out and stimulate [his] brain cells.”

” I’ve been scouring for a comfortable, quiet place to work,” said Previdi as his laptop sat inches away. ” I think I’ve finally found it here.”

As the only available cafe-style coffee shop in Germantown, Wired Beans owner Robert Wheeler predicts a lot of foot traffic in his café. Its proximity to the Chelten Avenue Station, a regional rail line, and to residential blocks and apartment buildings will certainly help, he said.

” We’re giving something for Germantowners to enjoy and call their own,” said Wheeler, who grew up in the neighborhood. ” I want the cafe to be a community place.”

Many of the same concepts that have gone into his first location in Mt. Airy will be transferred to Germantown. These include live jazz concerts on Saturdays and an artist-of-the-month wall, where local artists can display and sell their work.

A bulletin board, one for local businesses and one for community issues, is also planned.

Additionally, Wheeler is hard at work creating a menu, which will, among other things, include Paninis, wraps and made-to-order sandwiches It’s his hope that commuters will stop in on their way to work to grab a coffee and their lunch.

As always, fair trade coffee will also be available.

The café plans to operate from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. during the week and 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekends.

“Germantown has so many great people and I’m really looking forward to providing everyone with something really nice to enjoy”, said Wheeler