While she never wanted to head her own establishment, Kreiser admits that she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was most comfortable working in the restaurant business. So, in a matter of months, she went from casually looking for open spaces to finding the current location, securing a loan and, finally, in December, opening her doors to the city. And since then, she has begun each day, Monday through Saturday, at 5:30am, preparing the food and the drink for the day ahead — including the freshly baked desserts and the house specialty, the City Grind Roast, a dark, strong whole bean coffee from the John Gross Company. In the short time since its opening, City Grind — and its owner — have begun to find their niche in the neighborhood. Although the trendy menu could rightly earn itself a spot at a coffeehouse on the left coast, it is also complete with items that are “familiar,” as Kreiser combined creations inspired by the best of the creative eateries with traditional staples such as chicken, beef, and turkey to create gourmet sandwiches of her own, minus the bread. (Because even the most traditional sandwiches need spicing up — instead of the usual white, wheat, or rye, at City Grind you’ll find croissants, wraps, and Foccacia bread — healthy and tasty!)

Although she’s only been in business for a short time, Kreiser sees a bright future ahead, hoping to not only remain consistent, but to also direct her attentions to catering. She has already begun to cater small groups and office parties of up to fifty people and has developed a menu with that idea specifically in mind.

Wagner’s 5 and 10

Business Name: Wagner’s 5 and 10 Business Address: 1312 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA Phone: 717-236-4689 Hours: Mon.–Sat., 8am–9pm; Closed Sun. Owner: John Wagner, age 57 Years In Business: >60

From angle irons and pillows to watches and plants. From craft supplies and hairspray to goldfish and house paint. Sounds like a shopping list that would require miles of trekking across the city to complete, right? Wrong. These items can all be found in one location, and that’s been the case for the past sixty-odd years. And for many of those years, the store has been run under the management of one man, John Wagner. Wagner began working at the Five and Ten on Market Street as a high school student during the ’60s and, after years as manager, became the owner on September 1, 1981.

Just as the community’s needs and wants have changed over the years, so has the store. Wagner has filled the store’s 6500 square feet with an inventory that is five times what it was prior to his ownership, largely because, after all of these years, he feels he knows the customers and their needs. As the main retailer in the area, Wagner’s customers depend upon him for not only their day to day shopping needs, but also for the out-of-the-way items — those special touches that aren’t often found in the superstores of today. Not only does the Five and Ten offer the proximity and neighborhood-store atmosphere missing from shopping malls and plazas, but it also offers things “you won’t even see anywhere else,” according to his son, Scott, who’s been working with his father for the past ten years. Where else in the city can you find toothpaste a few aisles away from the wrenches and model car kits a few steps down from the mason jar lids? Wagner’s customers have also come to rely upon him for check cashing services, money orders, and, more recently, as one of the area’s only locations accepting PP&L bill payments.

Almost every day for the past 30-some years, Wagner has begun his work at 5:30am, preparing his store to serve the same community with the same enthusiasm he had on the first day, simply because, he says, “I enjoy it … it keeps me busy.” Although things in the retail world have changed since his first day, it is evident in talking to him that his desire is still there, as he, his son, and his nine-year-old granddaughter, Arianna, agree that the Wagner family can’t picture doing anything else. Just as there was in the past, in the future, “there will always be something here.”