A little over a year ago, Lippert began a service of providing and delivering the freshest, finest coffee, tea, organic sugars and jams, and gourmet goods to home and business customers. After she first developed the idea of a fresh roasted coffee delivery service, Lippert researched this specialty market through speaking with other business owners and coffee lovers everywhere. What she found was a niche where she could use her retail background and presentation savvy to provide a specialized personalized shopper service to businesses as well as homemakers and professionals. She set out to provide her customers with the best cup of coffee they could get their hands on and has lived up to every drop.

Lippert says she always wanted a business of her own. “I wanted to do something different and something to call my own.” After developing a solid business plan, and when she knew in her heart she could make it work, enthusiasm took over and she followed her gut feelings by developing a beautiful line of coffees, teas, and gourmet goods that are delivered right to your door. The beans are purchased through a vendor in Maryland, roasted to order at a “roasteria,” then brought to Lippert’s grinding site in Harrisburg where she grinds the beans to each customer’s specifications. The beans are then carefully packaged and sorted for delivery. With deliveries as far West as Carlisle and as far East as Hershey and Elizabethtown, a broad customer base from all areas is helping One Good Woman continually expand her business throughout central Pennsylvania.

One Good Woman is not currently a retail location, although future storefront space is being considered. She delivers right to your door, and if requested she’ll deliver the goods by 10am, just in time for your morning break. Brochures are available, and she’ll bring sample baskets by for you to look at. She’ll even personally create gift baskets to fill your needs working within a specific price range. Three to four times a year, One Good Woman mails out flyers updating customers of new blends, current offerings, and special events to keep customers updated and in touch with One Good Woman.

Orders can be placed by phone or fax, and she says she’s even thinking of setting up a web site for 24-hour/seven-days-a-week customer service. Payment is requested upon delivery, but if you’re not home when your delivery is made, payment can be left in an agreed upon place and Lippert will leave your order in weatherproof packaging for you at your door. If you leave the Harrisburg area for an extended period of time, or even relocate, but still crave your regular deliveries from One Good Woman, Lippert will gladly ship your packages to you. You’ll never have to be far away from a fresh cup of flavorful, aromatic coffee or tea again.

Along with several flavors of extremely fresh, just roasted, coffees, aromatic teas, and other assorted goodies, bountiful gift baskets are a specialty with One Good Woman. Baskets filled with assorted coffees, teas, and/or cocoas are pleasingly presented with scrumptious treats from a local baker. There are baskets for every occasion including thank-you baskets and sports baskets (Penn State, of course). Depending on the occasion, the basket may be substituted for a gift bag for a tailored effect, a tin galvanized bucket for your favorite gardener, or consider changing the theme by adding one of the local photography books she carries.

Doing any one thing for over 50 years certainly speaks volumes in itself, but being able to say you’re still working hands-on in a family business you started 53 years ago definitely says you’re doing something right. For James Macdonald, Sr., that something right is floor coverings, upholstery, and customer service.

In the 1940s, Macdonald found himself one among many thousands of men looking for new jobs after being released from military duty. In order to start providing for his family, Macdonald used the GI Bill to learn the carpet and upholstery cleaning trade. Thus began the saga of the M & Z Carpets empire. After briefly working for someone else, Macdonald started his own upholstery and carpet cleaning business. During his time as a carpet cleaner, customers began asking for carpet store referrals. With his clientele base strengthening and the growing trend of wall-to-floor covering, Macdonald saw an opportunity to expand his business to include carpet and other floor coverings.

Macdonald opened the first M & Z Carpets during 1946 in Carlisle, PA. Since that time, as the Macdonald family grew, so did the business. With seven children, five family members currently working in the M & Z business (one daughter, two sons, and two daughters-in-law), Macdonald says as long as there’s family interest, they’ll keep expanding to keep everyone working. Now the M & Z Carpets business includes three retail store locations (Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, and Carlisle).

In addition to their carpet and floor covering selections (many of which are offered at factory direct prices), M & Z Carpets includes an oriental rug division, a commercial division, a cleaning plant to care for oriental rugs, a workroom for seaming and binding, and a strong remnant division (with prices reduced about ½ of what you’d pay off the roll).

“Service is our number one advantage,” says Macdonald. Hands on management, and attention to details before and after the sale have been the M & Z strong suits. Macdonald feels that due to working with a committed, knowledgeable sales staff “sensitive to the customer’s needs,” they have continued to be able to track and adapt to customer trends quicker than most chain stores. Along with being directly aligned with one of the nations largest carpet manufacturers which gives them the ability to fill customers requests in a timely manner, their well-trained sales people (about 50 percent men and 50 percent women) offer their customers “more of a personal service than the bigger stores.” Service after the sale is as important to M & Z Carpets as helping the customer decide what best suits their needs.

Why should you shop at M & Z Carpets? If you’re looking for one of the largest selections of on-hand stock, big values, attentive sales coverage, professionalism, and family values, Macdonald says M & Z Carpets is the place to shop. M & Z Carpets offers “the best quality service, selection, and quality installation.” For the future, Macdonald plans M & Z Carpets “to be the best in the area and strive to do better every day.”