photo by: Gage Vota
Employees of Kirke’s Homemade Ice Cream and Coffee Connection provide coffee and ice cream to the residents of Shadyside.
SHADYSIDE — A new business is serving up sweet treats and energizing drinks in Shadsyide.
Coffee Connection and Kirke’s Homemade Ice Cream partnered to bring coffee and ice cream to the village of Shadyside.
Coffee Connection owner/operator Micheal Derosa is excited to be open.
“We began the process over a year ago to establish a coffee and ice cream business here in town, and the Chase Bank (building) came for sale and we decided it would be a great location, bought the bank building and began the renovation process to be able to put in ice cream and coffee along the way. I had been in contact with Kirke Porterfield, who I graduated high school with, and his son Mark Porterfield, who was very interested in doing the ice cream end of our business. So he and I partnered on that, and Mark runs the ice cream and we will run the coffee,” Derosa said.
He added that instead of the building having just one name, the building is called Coffee Connection and Kirke’s Homemade Ice Cream. In addition, Hair by Amy is also included.
“Coffee Central is owned by my wife, Lorri, and I. Kirke’s is owned by Mark Porterfield. And then we have a third business, a hair salon that Amy Defelice approached me and was looking for maybe a newer venue, and we developed an area for her so she has her hair business inside,” Derosa said.
Mark Porterfield said he is excited to finally open the shop and wants to continue to expand the business around the Ohio Valley.
“I messaged Mike DeRosa one day and threw around the idea of ice cream. He got back with me and said he has just the spot. We met, and he came across this place and gave me the opportunity to open up a Kirke’s here,” Mark said. “We’ve just been working on it for over a year, and it’s been awesome. It’s a great thing for the community, and we’re super excited to be here.”
He added that this is the second Kirke’s Homemade Ice Cream location.
“We figured what better place than here? And we chose here, and we definitely still want to open up a few more here and there, maybe across the (Ohio) river, to just kind of get the ice cream taste out to everybody, so everybody can have Kirke’s Ice Cream,” he said.
Mark’s father, Kirke Porterfield, said that he’s extremely proud of his son.
“When your kids do something really great, you really appreciate it. And Mark has just done an excellent job on this. He’s always wanted to be self-employed and do more stuff. And this is his first step, and hopefully it takes off and he can do even more,” Kirke said. “Mike and I went to school together, and he talked to me about having ice cream before when he was building a dental office here. But I talked to him and he said it’s not going to work out and then he was talking about it again recently when he bought this bank, and I said you need to talk to Mark. It’s kind of funny, he and I went to school together and now he’s in business with my son, which I think is awesome,” Kirke said.
When asked if he plans to continue to expand the company, Kirke said that would be further in the future.
“We’ve made ice cream 11 of the last 13 days, so we just can’t handle too much more. We don’t know how busy this place is going to be, but we’re just pretty maxed out right now. But if it works out, then we will have to expand. But at this point, I think we’re done for this year,” Kirke said.
In addition to the St. Clairsville location and the new Shadyside location, the company also owns two ice cream trucks that Kirke and wife Judi Porterfield run with the company’s mascot, the Porterfield’s dog Wilbur.