City councilmember, Blackwell, buys Metropole

Weiser city councilmember Sterling Blackwell has purchased The Metropole coffee shop, located at 339 State St. in downtown Weiser.

   A soft opening will take place this Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 Former owner, Lynnette Buller, could not be reached at time of publication, but Blackwell said she expressed to him that she was “ready for a change” and decided to sell as the result of a busy schedule that included working as a nurse within a hospital’s ICU unit.

 “I’ve always wanted to be a coffee shop owner,” Blackwell told the Weiser Signal American last Friday. “I tried multiple times, years ago, but it didn’t happen. So, when The Metropole opened here, I met Lynnette and asked her to please talk to me first if she ever decided to sell it.”

 Rumors began circulating back in April about Buller possibly selling the shop. 

   The rumors were confirmed when she contacted Blackwell, who is a theater educator at Fruitland High School and at Treasure Valley Community College. He is also directing the Weiser Little Theater play “Silent Sky,” set to open Nov. 11.

 “She contacted me at the end of summer, while I was registering students at school and said that she needed to sell the shop,” said Blackwell, who also owns Sterling Shaved Ice as a side business. “She said, ‘It’s yours or I might have to close the doors,’ and I said, ‘Oh, Okay.’ So, this has actually been a really quick turnaround for me.”

 The new coffee shop owner said it was his original intention to keep the business open to the public during the permit and inspection process but discovered that it would not be an option.

 “I was going to let it run itself and at least keep the doors open and then I found that it just wasn’t possible,” he said. “I have to budget, I have to re-inspect, I have to re-apply for all these things. But I thought that if I have to temporarily close the doors while I’m getting re-permitted, I’m going to make good use of the time, do some deep cleaning, and maybe try some of the things I want to bring in and see how it goes.”

 Blackwell was at the shop last Friday with a small crew of helpers who were busy getting things in shape for when it does re-open, including newly hired manager Herbert Miller.

 

New Manager

 Miller, originally born in Mississippi, moved to western Oregon with his family when he was four and later moved to the Weiser area, on the Oregon side. He now lives in Weiser.

 “This is a little bit scary, but I’m really excited,” he said. “I’m especially excited for Sterling, to see his dream finally come true for him.”

 Miller previously owned Miller Cabinets on Highway 201 for about 13 years before switching professions.

 “It was a really good business, but I got to the point where I was busy and my creative juices were running out,” he said. “I felt I just needed to do something different.”

 He eventually started working for a lumber broker where he would stay for the next five years. He resigned the position about two months ago. Not long after, Sterling asked if he wanted a job.

 “I had gotten a couple job offers but then I got a text from Sterling saying there was this possibility,” Miller explained. “I said, ‘Well, I could use a job,’ and he said, “Ok, you’re in.’”

 Blackwell is still fleshing out what he will offer customers aside from coffee, but promises good things on the horizon, mentioning baked items and, possibly, a breakfast menu.

 “As for sandwiches; maybe someday, but not now,” Blackwell said. “I have to ease into this. Right now, I want to get the coffee shop back open and running.”

 What will be new, however, is the coffee bean Blackwell has decided to use. He is going with products produced by Boise’s Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters.

 “Dave Ledgard, owner of Dawson Taylor, is one of the original owners of Seattle’s Best Coffee, of which Starbucks is a subsidiary of,” he said. “As soon as it started taking off, he split off and moved to Boise in 1995, where they have been producing specialty coffee ever since. I love their bean.”