The next time you are in Penn Valley and need a jolt of caffeine, look no further than Java Dream, a specialty coffee roaster and café owned by Stephanie Delmore.
Delmore, who served 24 years in the Air Force, opened her shop in June of 2020.
“I was getting ready to retire from the military and wanted to stay here,” Delmore said. “My parents live near Folsom. I knew I wanted to stay in California but I also knew I loved it up here. So I had to figure out my next chapter.
“It’s funny because when I first moved up here I was like, where’s the coffee at?” she said. “I had always thought about having a coffee shop ever since I was in high school, but never knew that it was something that I actually could do. So I started looking into it and doing a lot of research, a lot of reading, and figuring out if it was something I could even personally do. Was I capable of doing that? Because 24 years in the Air Force I know a whole lot about drinking coffee, I just didn’t know how to do coffee.”
Delmore did her research, and one day happened to be driving around Penn Valley. Her husband happened to notice a “tiny little sign” in the window of what was once a real estate office. She called the number on the advertisement and kicked off an 18-month-long effort to obtain permits and all the necessary components to opening a new business.
Timing was seemingly not on Delmore’s side as she launched her coffee shop in June 2020, right in the thick of the COVID pandemic. However she pushed forward and is still running what has become a successful café.
“By the time we got to the grand opening, we were members of the chamber,” Delmore said. “Response was pretty positive despite the fact that we thought we were going to be done with COVID (that) fall. So here we were. The world was still shut down and we were ready to open. We got our final permit from the county and we were like, should we open? It was like, well we have to start paying these bills so we might as well try. It was really challenging, but the support of this community was insane. It was so nice to be able to do something scary and then have people come in and say, ‘I was following you all along and I am so glad you’re open.’”
Java Dream isn’t a coffee shop without a mission. In their case, Delmore and her team are committed to helping their small community in any way they can.
“The reasoning behind wanting to do this wasn’t just coffee. I am not rich enough to be a philanthropist but I like the idea. So if I said, hey I am collecting school supplies for the kids, Stephanie wouldn’t get very many donations. But Java Dream does. I’ve been able to use this business to do more for the community and engage. I’m really big on the schools, so (I’m) able to use this as an outlet to provide other things for the community that I wouldn’t as an individual be able to do.”
In addition to serving coffee and espresso drinks, Java Dream offers a variety of Italian gelato and a menu of sandwiches, salads, and wraps. Additionally they roast their own coffee.
“We didn’t initially (roast). We used to use Sierra Mountain, which I love and which I built all my recipes on. One day I jokingly said to them, if you’re ever ready to retire or slow down let me know. I am interested in the roastery part of it. So six months later (they) said, ‘remember when you said…? I think I am ready.’ I wasn’t quite ready but I was excited to take on that endeavor. So we actually bought the roaster side of their business and have taken it over.”
“The biggest thing is that we work with our community. We also bring in stuff from other small businesses. We get our donuts from Daily Donut, our bagels from Bubba’s Bagels. We get The Baker & The Cakemaker out of Auburn. We use Emily’s Catering. So being able to support fellow local businesses and bring it to Penn Valley where people don’t have to drive up the hill that early in the morning — it’s right out their back door.”
Java Dream is at 11434 Pleasant Valley Drive in Penn Valley. They can be reached at 530-615-4900. For more information please visit javadreampv.com.