Midtown is the place for Sweet Passions

by Andrea M. Ciccocioppo

Anyone who believes that you cannot run a successful small business in the city of Harrisburg had better wake up and smell the coffee... the coffee at Sweet Passions, that is.

Sweet Passions is Harrisburg’s premier coffee shop. It’s been brewing strong in Harrisburg’s midtown section for over a year and is the passion of William Fritz and Patrick Brady—two landscapers who needed work during the off-season. The business was seeded at the Broad Street Farmer’s Market in 1993, as a flower and hand-dipped chocolate booth. Then came the coffee and cappuccino machines. Two years later, the pair was ready to expand their hours, but the Market wasn’t. So, in November, 1995, Sweet Passions sprouted at 1006 North Third Street, and, through careful tending, has flourished into the fine-coffee/exotic-flower shop that it is today.

But referring to Sweet Passions as just a coffee shop is like calling an eight-layer German chocolate double-fudge dessert an after-dinner mint. Included with their trademark exotic, fresh-cut flowers, Sweet Passions offers hand-dipped chocolates, scones, muffins, bagels, biscotti, Italian sodas, luscious cakes, daily salads and soup, sandwiches, 20 different types of loose tea, and, of course, coffee—featuring locally micro-roasted coffee beans brought in fresh each week. Coffees and teas are sold by the cup or in bulk. The desserts are made-to-order by a local European pastry chef and are offered by the slice or whole. The flowers are divine.

The atmosphere, as well, is unique. From any table in the shop, patrons can view the Walnut Street bridge, the Capitol dome and many other Harrisburg landmarks, thanks to local artist Mike Fink who beautifully illustrated them about the walls and ceiling. Weather permitting, there’s also courtyard seating nestled behind the shop, complete with brilliant sculptures and even a working waterfall. Weekly entertainment ranges from an acoustic guitarist to tarot card readings. In short, Sweet Passions delivers big city flair to its small city environment.

So, what inspired the pair to put their roots down into what many business-owners consider to be tough ground? "We live in the neighborhood and we saw a great opportunity here," Fritz explains, adding that it all came about at the same time talk began about the revitalization of North Third Street and the midtown section. "We knew about the plans for the future of the area. You’re going to see a lot more specialty shops and stores opening up," he reveals. "You’re going to see flower boxes and a lot of greenery being planted along Third Street. We explored what could’ve looked like a better opportunity next to a movie theater in a mall-type setting. That’s a phenomenal opportunity. But we believe that we have that same opportunity here as this area grows," Fritz affirms.

But it wasn’t merely the promise of a bright future that led Sweet Passions to midtown. "It’s a unique area because you not only have downtown and downtown traffic, but you have neighborhood traffic here in the evening. It’s a great mix," Fritz explains, adding that not only does the business attract city workers and dwellers, but also people from various towns on both the East and West shores—which may come as a surprise to those who believe that many so-called suburbanites are afraid to go into the city.

"Just because it’s the city, people automatically think it’s unsafe. That’s just a totally unfounded belief," Fritz states. "It’s like any place you go, if you watch how you carry yourself, you watch what you do, it’s no worse than any other area."

It’s the customers who drive Sweet Passions’ success. First, the shop is open seven days a week, from breakfast to a late-evening snack. "We’ve made this business our life to make our customers happy. We don’t go halfway with anything that we do. It’s either done right or not at all," Fritz notes, "because without the customer, we wouldn’t be here."

Although they consider Sweet Passions an "on-growing success," each day learning something new, it hasn’t come without effort. "A lot of it is trial and error. We’ve made our mistakes," Fritz notes. One thing the pair learned is that it’s not easy to employ people to run your business. Although they do employ a few workers, Fritz and Brady found that no one can manage the business like they can. "No [employee] cares about the business like the business-owner does, like the person that has all their money and their house on the line for this business. You have to have continuity when you’re running a business. You have to have consistency in your product. Employees don’t understand that a lot of times. They don’t understand why you need it done this way, and we’ve had a lot of problems conveying that," Fritz explains.

Another oversight came in the form of exhaustion. "[Your business] has to be your life, period. It’s not like you can go home at 5 p.m. or 1 p.m. in the afternoon and relax, or go to the shore every weekend in the summer. It doesn’t happen," he explains. "It’s very difficult to own a business. And, if someone tells you it’s difficult, count on that being 10 times harder once you do it."

But the hard work is worth it for Fritz and Brady. "Out of anything that I’ve ever done, this is the most fun business I’ve ever worked in," Fritz notes. "People come in to buy something either for themselves or to treat someone else, and they’re usually in a very good mood. It’s a very nice place to work."

The friendliness comes through between the customers, too. "It’s gotten to a point where people are getting very comfortable with seeing each other here and they will join each other at tables," Brady observes. "They’re always thanking us for just being here. That’s very gratifying."

Another form of gratification came from the Mayor’s office. Fritz and Brady were selected by the city’s business Development Executive Council as Business Rookie of the Year. "To be recognized for something that you put your heart, body and soul into, like we have with this business, not only for our livelihood, but for our customers, to be recognized for that is really quite an honor," Fritz enthuses, adding that the city has been behind Sweet Passions nearly every step of the way.

Before they opened in midtown, they had to apply for various licenses. Unfortunately, there was no precedent for coffee shops. "There was never a license available—you were either a deli or a restaurant. The minute you added a chair, you became a restaurant and you had to get into all other kinds of classifications and requirements," Fritz notes. "The city of Harrisburg now has created a license to accommodate an establishment like ours."

And they are looking forward to an expansion of their establishment this spring, which will add additional seating in another unique environment. Apparently the midtown soil is as rich as the coffee at Sweet Passions.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: If you own a successful "Start-Up" and are willing to share your secrets, call 703-5000.