After growing up around his uncle’s restaurant and later working as a barista, Will Maggs realized that he wanted to have his own coffee shop. So, just a few months before the pandemic hit in 2020, Maggs realized his dream and opened Adelie Coffee House at 6610 Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy.
“I like seeing people enjoy what I’m serving them,” says Maggs. “People who are neighbors that have never met each other are meeting each other and forming friendships inside of the coffee shop, which has been really great for me.”
“I just couldn’t be happier with the neighborhood that I picked for the cafe.”
– Will Maggs, owner of Adelie Coffee House
What was so fun for Maggs about being a barista was the opportunity to serve people high-quality food and drinks while also having fun and being social. When he started thinking about what to call his coffee shop, the Adélie penguin seemed the perfect namesake because they too are fun-loving and social creatures. But, as Maggs stresses, it’s the Mount Airy community that contributes so much to the atmosphere of Adelie Coffee House.
“I just couldn’t be happier with the neighborhood that I picked for the café,” Maggs says. “It’s been great.”
When asked what a visitor to Adelie can expect to find among the offerings, Maggs is not shy to say that he carries the best products he can find. Adelie offers woodfired sourdough from Germantown-based Dead King Bread, bagels delivered from Brooklyn’s Rockland Bakery every morning, and, perhaps most importantly, beans from Maiden Coffee Roasters in Asbury Park, New Jersey, for the blends Adelie serves daily. Co-founded by La Colombe alum Caleb Lewis, Maiden Coffee offers a flavor profile that Maggs describes as pleasing to the everyday person who likes a good strong cup of coffee, but also in keeping with the more modern fruity flavors that are currently in demand. For Maggs this was the perfect middle ground.
With community and quality central to the Adelie brand, a partnership with Weavers Way to carry their coffee has been a perfect introduction to even more neighbors in the Mount Airy neighborhood and beyond.
“Weavers Way is legendary in the co-op world, so it was really exciting to be asked to work with them. It’s a nice welcome to the neighborhood.
I have to say, they make the best cappuccino! On days I am working from home, this is my favorite coffee shop to visit and it is less than a mile from where I live in Mt Airy!