By: Sarah Taylor
Photo: Shy Bear Brewing Facebook
On Meadowbrook Lane, in Lewistown, Jason Ufema is owner of both Rich Coast Coffee and Shy Bear Brewing. While Rich Coast Coffee may be a long-standing community staple, Shy Bear Brewing is a relative newcomer — but both are valuable drivers of the area’s evolution.
Crafting community connections
In 1978, Jason Ufema’s father, Lance, founded Rich Coast Coffee. Unlike today, Ufema explained, then, central Pennsylvania lacked local coffee service providers. From its start, Rich Coast Coffee was built with the intention of offering unparalleled technical and customer service.
According to Ufema, Rich Coast Coffee focuses on servicing a variety of clientele, including offices, restaurants, hotels and convenience stores. This diverse approach has allowed the business to cultivate long-lasting relationships, including with some of the most well-known names in the region.
“There wasn’t anything like it for many miles and we felt the community was ready for something of this magnitude,”
Ufema explained, “Rich Coast has had the fortune of many loyal, long-standing customers, but the Penn State Creamery and Original Waffle Shops are the most notable in the area.”
In 2015, Ufema noticed another void in the local marketplace — one for high-quality craft beer — and Shy Bear Brewing was born.
“There wasn’t anything like it for many miles and we felt the community was ready for something of this magnitude,” Ufema shared.
Recognizing the community’s readiness for such an establishment, Ufema set out to create a welcoming space that embodies the spirit of rural development and hospitality. (Ufema also has made strides for Shy Bear to be environmentally friendly, installing 315 solar panels; using the brewery’s trub, spent hops and yeast to make compost; and serving cattle fed on the brewery’s spent grains!)
Fostering local loyalty through exceptional service and partnerships
Both of Ufema’s businesses share a commitment to community-mindedness. Shy Bear Brewing’s emphasis on local partnerships (like those with Big Spring Spirits) and Rich Coast Coffee’s long-standing relationships with diverse clientele highlight the importance of supporting local.
This community-first mindset not only has helped other local businesses thrive but also contributes to the evolution of the entire region.
“The culture of our locale has a way of embracing an authentic viewpoint of what [the area] values,” Ufema explained, “and [the community values] align with the type of business we will always want to be a part of.”
Learn more at https://www.shybearbrewing.com/ and https://richcoast.com/.
