A Tarentum coffee shop is all the buzz with news of its expansion to Harrison.

Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates is set to open a second location in the Heights Plaza, near the post office along Union Avenue.

Owner Desiree Singleton expects to be brewing beans at the new site within two weeks.

“The goal with this location is to have more seating available and provide a gathering spot for people in the community,” said Singleton, a 1997 Highlands graduate.

The former pizza shop has been transformed into a cozy, Bohemian-themed spot with clusters of vintage couches, chairs and tables. And of course, a hand-painted smiling moon on the wall.

The pending opening has social media stirring, with many Facebook users eagerly anticipating a Natrona Heights location.

“As soon as they drop their opening date, we are there,” one user said.

“This is so exciting,” said another, along with many posts of congratulations.

Township Manager Amy Rockwell wished Singleton and her staff great success in the new location and said the township looks forward to partnering with the coffee shop.

”We anticipate that this investment into our business community will encourage other development opportunities, especially with increased foot traffic in the plaza,” Rockwell said.

Singleton, 44, is a Tarentum native who lived in Virginia and Washington, D.C., after earning an environmental science degree from Old Dominion University. She has seen the impact coffee shops and other hubs can have on community revitalization in larger cities.

It’s partly why she chose the plaza when scouting a second spot for her LaPrima brand coffee and hand-dipped Belgian chocolates. The new site also will offer deluxe baked goods made in-house.

“The plaza was part of my childhood,” she said. “I know what it looked like in its heyday when Horne’s was there.”

Singleton is hoping the site will have a snowball effect and attract more business in the somewhat-vacant shopping center, much in the same way her Tarentum location did for Corbet Street.

That shop opened in March 2020, just before covid shut down most businesses. Harvest Moon was considered essential and was allowed to stay open during the pandemic because it sells baked goods.

In a peculiar way, the pandemic helped propel her business because customers sought out normalcy.

“We had people who were stuck at home all day, and they would say coming there was the only good thing in their day,” Singleton said.

As a teen, Singleton worked at Nora Arensberg Chocolates in Brackenridge. That launched her passion, which continued through chocolatiering classes in D.C. while Singleton raised her family.

When they moved back to Tarentum about six years ago, Singleton worked at LaPrima Espresso on Pittsburgh’s North Side for a few years.

“It’s like coming full circle,” she said. “With my degree, I know the conditions it takes for these plants to grow and produce the things we use here.”

The Corbet Street location will remain as is, with specialty coffee, chocolate cordials and dipped Oreos. The gourmet baked goods from the new Harrison spot will make their way for sale there as well.

Singleton trusted her intuition about opening in Tarentum, realizing the building stock and aesthetics were there. She is hopeful the same will happen in Harrison.

Plans for the new space are open-ended, with a potential for open mic nights, coffee roasting and bean-to-bar classes, where customers could create their own chocolate.

“I want it to be a place where everyone can come together in a safe environment,” she said.

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