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Our Mission
Crossroads coffee house will provide the highest quality beverages,
pastries and sandwiches, offer a musical oasis for the acoustically
adept, and a cyber center for customer convenience. Crossroads
will recognize the importance of profitability without neglecting
the community in which it resides. Crossroads Coffee House
was built today to pave the way for a better Roxborough tomorrow.
History
Albert Forster is the name scrolled delicately across the
stained glass ceiling panels, but since February 11th, 2006,
Crossroads Coffee House is the name printed boldly on the
front door. From its exterior, the 83-year-old building is
"reminiscent of an Olde English Pub" (the Chestnut
Hill Local), while the inside has been called everything from
cozy to magical. Built in 1923 by Albert Forster, this multipurpose
space was originally only meant to house shoes, and remained
the heart of Roxborough's laces, leather and soles for approximately
80 years. Today's coffee lovers enjoy reminiscing with stories
of their parents taking them to Forster's for a new pair of
shoes, "back when Ridge was a great place to shop."
In 2003, when Maryanne, then owner, sold Forster's last shoe,
the building lay vacant. For three years the space remained
untended while the Roxborough Development Corporation (RDC)
sought fervently for an owner to save this jewel with a sense
of restoration and a business that would attract shoppers
to Ridge Avenue. Michael Loughlin, RDC board member and contractor,
finally decided to tackle the project himself. Mike was raised
on Quentin Street, and graduated from Roxborough High School.
Never forgetting his roots and the 'soles' of Roxborough,
he opened the Crossroads Coffee House to show the possibilites
that Ridge and the RDC can offer the community.
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