From ice cream to coffee ...

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PRINCETON — Despite some new owners, the good coffee, bagels and muffins you’ve come to associate with Eco Espresso in Princeton won’t change a bit. In fact, they’re going to get even better.

Karen and Mark Townsend of Princeton took a leap of faith and purchased the eclectic and colorful coffee shop on Main Street on Jan. 25. They made the decision just the week before.

The Townsends, who also own the Dairy Queens in Princeton and Chillicothe, said they just didn’t want to see the business close.

“We didn’t want to see one more empty storefront on Main Street. This is a business people like to come to,” Karen said.

As the snow started piling up Tuesday morning, the Townsends sat at a table in the back, near the cash register. Despite the cold and wind, a near continuous stream of customers stomped through the front door, received their coffee, and congratulated the Townsends on the new business and thanked them for keeping it open.

“We didn’t plan on buying it,” Karen said, laughing. “But we did always like this place.”

She admitted taking the leap from ice cream and frozen treats to coffee and muffins was a bit of a stretch, but she’s been learning fast.

“I’ve been learning everything these past few weeks. I haven’t burned myself yet,” she said, smiling.

The Townsends, aided by five employees, plan to take the recipes for the menu items back to their original state. Though they’ll be no changes to the name, customers might find a few additions to the colorful chalkboard behind the counter.

“We’re hoping to add some hot sandwiches. We tried some Italian beef (Monday) on a croissant, and it was delicious. We hope we can add those next week,” Mark said.

They also hope to add a new two-head espresso machine to speed up the coffee making process, so customers can get their caffeine fix just a little bit faster.

The Townsends admit its been a bit hectic having the third business while readying the two Dairy Queens to be open soon, but they said it’s all been worth it to pay tribute to their family history.

From 1942 to 1955, Mark’s parents owned the Apollo Cafe, previously located just next door.

“That’s the cool part about owning this place,” Mark said.

“This place is a bit eccentric, but so many people are attached to it. We hope we can keep the business as the place they know and love and draw in customers at the same time,” Karen added.