If you’re grabbing the bus at the Allentown Transportation Center, you can now fuel your trip with a cup of coffee from Transfer Cafe. You can work and enjoy a cup of coffee as you wait for your bus, or stop in during your coffee break at work! Transfer Cafe will be your new go-to coffee spot in Downtown Allentown.

Name and title: AJ Jordan, Owner
Business address: 625 Linden St., Allentown, PA
What is your business name? Transfer Cafe
Website URL? www.transfer-cafe.com
What are your social media handles? Facebook.com/TransferCafeAllentown, Instagram.com/TransferCafeAllentown

What products or services do you sell?

Coffee, teas, grab-and-go snacks, travel merchandise.

Describe the vibe of your store.

Transfer Café is a comfortable lounge environment designed with the commuter in mind. Featuring designer chairs from Blu Dot, real-time commuter information, and large windows to enjoy the sights. Our location in the center of the Allentown Transportation Center provides the perfect location to sit back, relax, and make any connections comfortably.

What is the one thing your business is known for, over your competitors? Explain why you’re known for that.

We’ve partnered with Passenger Coffee of Lancaster, PA. Consistently ranked by Q Graders as Pennsylvania’s finest coffee, Passenger Coffee offers Foundational Roasts directly sourced from select farms across the world. Transfer Café serves a rotating selection of Passenger Coffee, as well as a daily brew of Necessary Blend, and even bodied blend of Passenger sourced beans to provide an accessible and refreshing morning boost.

How did the business get started?

The owner has been a lifelong transit rider and coffee lover. Through years of making connections on buses, he often struggled to find comfortable and welcoming places to wait and work while on a transfer. Also, as a downtown resident, he saw a need to better connect with fellow urban residents, frequent downtown event visitors, and everyone else looking for a comfortable place to relax and enjoy the city. Transfer Café was designed to Connect all of these people through the language of coffee.

Why did you choose to open your business in Downtown Allentown?

Downtown Allentown is the urban center of our region. It’s the place where people come together and experience life together. The historic architecture and network of narrow half-streets and alleys come together to create an exciting and walkable place to explore. Taking daily walks around the neighborhood to see all the new shops, murals, sculptures, and people truly never get old in Downtown Allentown. Transfer Café is meant to be that hub to Connect us all in Downtown Allentown. Stop on in to find your next destination, and a warm drink to take with you along the way.

Tell us about the biggest “win” in your business’s history. Explain what it was, how it came about, and what it meant to your business.

As a new business, just getting open was a big win, but I think the most exciting surprise so far is meeting all of the tourists who pass through our city daily on the intercity buses. Just in the fest week, we had guests from China, Peru, California, and other places. These guests were all on layover in our city, looking for something to do for a few hours. Being able to serve them and chat about their travels, share some information on local destinations they could explore while waiting, and invite them back to our city again in the future has been a big win. Those are exactly the types of connections we hope to foster at Transfer Café.

What are some of your store’s goals for the future?

Our biggest goal is to grow with the city. Right now we’re offering coffee, tea, and light snack options. We’re hoping to add some quick grab-and-go sandwich options soon. We also plan to add Transfer Point locations at festivals and events in the near future to bring Passenger Coffee to the rest of the Valley.

Tell us an interesting and fun fact about your business.

Our location was previously a waiting platform for buses! When City Center Group redesigned and rehabilitated the Allentown Transportation Center the locations for bus boarding were reconfigured. Transfer Café stands where the former Platform 1 once stood. Now, the new ATC Platform C has been moved right out in front of the store to welcome intercity travelers to downtown Allentown. Something fun about our menu: We offer three varieties of chocolate for our Mocha! You can choose between regular milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or spicy.

What events do you have coming up?

No events are organized at this time but we do plan on hosting events this year!

What’s your favorite quote, and who originally said it?

“Every city has to deal with the problem of cars and public transport. IF you provide good alternatives for public transport, you won’t have traffic problems.” – Jamie Lerner, Mayor of Curitiba