Businesses Give Free Coffee and Pizza to Storm-Stricken Neighbors

Local Businesses Step Up to Support Storm Victims

In the wake of recent storm damage, local businesses in the area are showing their support for neighbors who have been affected. From coffee shops to pizza restaurants, community members are coming together to offer assistance and comfort during a difficult time.

At Branch Street Coffee Roasters on Route 224, a fresh pot of coffee is ready for customers, but there’s an extra twist this week. The shop is offering free cups of drip coffee to anyone who needs a pick-me-up after dealing with the aftermath of Sunday’s storms.

“Anyone who’s just been having a rough week, been just trying to, like, ease the burden a little bit,” said Joshua Mitchell, manager at Branch Street. “Just somewhere to come in, charge up and hang out, stay out of the heat.”

The free coffee initiative includes both 12- and 16-ounce sizes, allowing people to choose how much caffeine they need. Troy Metzger, another manager at the shop, added, “I guess it just depends how much caffeine you need.”

Branch Street was open when the storms hit on Sunday, but they lost power and are still without internet. Despite these challenges, they are grateful to be open for their regular customers.

“It’s like one small thing with all the craziness going on. So it doesn’t cost too much for us to do something like that to make someone’s day,” Mitchell said.

They aren’t the only ones helping out. In Poland, Bomb City Pizza has also joined the effort by offering free pizzas to families affected by the storms.

The pizza shop started with 20 free New York-style pizzas, but due to generous donations, they’ve now given out over 100. Owner Rob Lettieri said he didn’t expect the response to be so overwhelming.

“I didn’t expect — I thought maybe, you know — I didn’t expect it,” Lettieri said. “It blew up, like, I think there was 100 shares, was 800 likes, 100 comments, was crazy. I didn’t expect it to be like that and I just was giving away 20 pizzas. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, to be honest.”

Lettieri lived through Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and remembered the struggle of not having power for nearly a month. He said the experience made him want to give back to his community.

“It just kind of touched home and then this community was so helpful, going into business,” he said. “They’d been so supportive at this store, we’ve been so busy and I just wanted to give back. So that’s the best way I knew how.”

Bomb City Pizza isn’t stopping here. Each month, they donate 2% of their sales to Akron Children’s Hospital. Lettieri also mentioned that some customers have been putting money in the tip jar, which they don’t have to do.

“They’ve been even putting money in the tip jar, which they don’t have to do, so it’s just a great community,” he said.

This week, Bomb City is preparing 100 free pizza boxes for those affected by the storms. They’re asking people to show a valid ID displaying the address of an affected area.

As the community continues to recover from the storms, these acts of kindness remind everyone of the strength and compassion found in local businesses.