Local business bounces back from pandemic

By Jensen Burnheimer ’21, staff writer

Small businesses everywhere took a hit when forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, Annville’s local café and theatre, the Allen Theatre and Backstage Café, has so far survived.

When COVID-19 struck, the Allen Theatre and Backstage Café was forced to close temporarily. The establishment was closed for over four months. Being in the small town of Annville, making connections and talking with customers was the highlight of the café.

Ed and Sue Felty took over the ownership of the theatre and café about two years ago.

“Getting to see all the people and getting to interact with the customers is the best,” Felty said. Hearing the positive feedback and hearing ‘I love this place.’ That is such a neat feeling–just to know that people feel warm and welcome and want to come back. Interacting with the people and the public is the best part.”

After the news of the closing, the Allen Theatre and Backstage Café’s regular customers were saddened to hear that they would not be able to make their frequent trips for their favorite coffee and meals.

“I’ve been going here for at least twenty years,” Annville’s Matt Conrad said. “I graduated from Cedar Crest in ’05 and from LVC in ’09, so I’ve been coming here since probably middle school. It was smart for them to close given all the variables. I like the people aspect of the café. You come in here and it’s just one big family, and it’s nice to get away, especially now that I am working from home.”

Even some students who live locally and visit the café and theatre often were upset about not being able to visit the café for their favorite items during the four months.

“I understood why it closed,” Robbie Meisenhelter, a senior digital communications major, said. “I drove by often hoping one day I would see the open sign. It’s one of my favorite places to get coffee. My favorite thing about the café is probably the size of the coffees. The coolest thing is I feel like I can actually sit down and do work there.”

The Feltys hope that more students choose to do their schoolwork at the café too, especially with the proximity to campus. The café is now offering a 20 percent discount on café items to all LVC students when they present their student ID cards at the register. Until new movies begin to show, movies are $5 a ticket. The owners and staff hope to see students soon.