Turks Head Cafe had their grand opening Sept. 18 just in time for restaurant week! They hosted their usual live music with games, a prize giveaway and a live coffee roast. The faces behind Turks Head Cafe are a team of four: Andrew Lemont, Jeremiah King, Michael Lemont and Tom Lemont. The Lemont family also provides the cafe’s roasted coffee.
The family has been in the coffee service industry since 1956, just passing their 65th anniversary. Turks Head originally started out as coffee roasters that were locally sourced with no storefronts. In 2016, Turks Head coffee roasters became a retail and distribution line for other local coffee shops because they saw the need for more direct trade and locally sourced coffee. They also wanted to become more active members in the community of West Chester. On a normal Saturday and Sunday, Turks Head has live music from many different local artists like Eliseacoustic from Instagram, Peter Peak and Nick Lurwick.
Besides hosting various musicians, the cafe also has a relaxed atmosphere. “I think when people come to the cafe, they know you’re not coming to other cafes — you are coming for the vibe,” said Jeremaiah King. “It’s a great community spot to share ideas, so people can learn new things and help other businesses out.”
The cafe’s building was originally home to one of Lemont’s previous clients, Fenn’s Coffee, for 22 years. After providing Fenn’s Coffee with products for years, the Lemont family and King took over the building in February of 2022. They decided it needed a refresh and pulled everything out to the walls to fix the place up. They spent months with the help of local contractors rebuilding, painting over and designing the modern industrial themed cafe. Five months later in June of 2022, Turks Head Cafe was born.
Turks Head is well known for its nitro tea and coffee/cold brew. The nitrogen is flushed over the drinks to lower the acidity and cut down on lingering bitterness. It is made to give their coffee a rich, refreshing feel, similar to Guiness beer, causing it to need less sweetener as well. Some of their other popular drinks this fall are Cinnamon Apple, S’More Latte, Cinnamon Latte and a Dirty Pumpkin Chai. Along with those lattes, they also offer many other drinks and items like smoothies, frappes, refreshers and a variety of baked goods like bagels and biscottis.
I asked Jerry King his favorite drink to make and he replied with lattes; the Turks Head Cafe is well known for creating latte art. “Brian King, head barista, specializes in the latte art. It’s a little intimidating at first; it’s like a piece of artwork,” Jerimiah King said. “Essentially a barista is a five minute therapist who always asks how everyone’s problems are.”
You can find Turks Head Cafe at 111 North Church Street in West Chester, PA. They are open seven days a week, Monday–Friday from 6:30 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.–7 pm. and Sunday 7 a.m.– 5 p.m.
Lauren Flynnmiller is a second-year Interdisciplinary Studies major with minors in Journalism and American Sign Language. LF954@wcupa.edu