Wagging Tail 

Written by Dani Haig

    "Life is Better with Coffee and Dogs." Now that's a slogan I can get behind. Not only that, but who doesn't love an aesthetic, little coffee shop and supporting a small business? Wagging Tail, the Allenwood location, is a small, quaint, shed-like building. While pulling in, the car shakes from the bumpy ground of gravel. The black brick and brown wood give a rustic, industrial feel. One side of the small shed has a drive-through window, and the other has a walk-up window. On the side with the walk-up window, is a faded, full-size painting of the logo in white. In front, there is a patio with a dark brown, distressed pergola. Under, are two small metal, circular tables with two chairs to each. While sitting under the open pergola, you can feel the warm sun beating on you. There are a few parking spots on the gravel for the people seeking to occupy the seating area.

  Wagging Tail is owned by a young man and woman, Meghan and Eric Solomon, husband and wife, who are high school sweethearts. They are both veterans and served in the U.S. Military. They originally started their small business from a trailer in their backyard in 2018. It was hugely successful so, only a short year later, in 2019, they built and opened their first coffee shop, Wagging Tail, located in Allenwood, PA. They now own three locations, all within 30 minutes of each other, and a mobile trailer.

    Meghan and Eric grew up in Boston and exclaim, "The coffee in Boston is to die for, nothing like the coffee here." So, luckily for us, the couple decided to bring a little piece of home here, to Allenwood, and open up their own little coffee shops. Meghan and Eric are also proud dog parents to two Labradors. That's why their logo has a silhouette of a Labrador, and their slogan includes "Dogs", not only "Coffee".

    Wagging Tail isn't just any other coffee shop. They also offer blitzers, lemonades, cookies, muffins, merchandise, and, of course, pup cups. The flavor of cookies and muffins change weekly. Some kinds offered are: Chocolate Chip, Molasses, "Kitchen Sink", Cinnamon Roll, Banana Chocolate Chip, Golden Oreo, Animal Cracker, and more. They have a daily menu and, every month, a new, limited addition, themed menu is released. Because we are approaching fall, this month's theme is inspired by the show Gilmore Girls. A few themes over the past few months have been Baseball, for the Little League World Series, Barbie, for the new movie, Employee Appreciation Month, where each employee comes up with their own signature drink, Carnival theme, and many more. 

    According to an employee, Ryleigh, who works at all three locations, the most popular item on the menu is the iced churro. Their signature latte contains caramel and brown sugar. Her favorite of the three locations is Allenwood, as it is, in her opinion, the most aesthically pleasing. She cheerfully adds she, "just loves the vibe." She says her favorite part of going to work has to be when Meghan and Eric bring their four-year-old son. This business gives off such a warm, homey feel, and being family-owned is just the cherry on top. 

     Customers line up in cars around the building supporting this small business every day. Speaking from experience, their drinks aren't just visually appealing, they are delicious! While enjoying a heavenly "Muddy Paw" latte in the cute seating area, I observed someone park, walk up to the walk-up window, and order. The server opened the sliding window and perkily said, "Hi! What can I get for you?" The man responded with "A large churro and pumpkin muffin please" to which the server asked how he would like his churro latte, iced or hot, and how he would like to pay. After the payment she said, "We'll have that right out for you!", closed the window, quickly and efficiently made the drink, opened the window back up while handing the man his latte and muffin, and happily said "Have a nice day! We hope to see you back soon!"

       As you can see, Meghan and Eric are hardworking, go-getters with a hugely successful small business. In just under four years, they have consistently expanded their business. From signature drinks, to adding foods to the menu, to creating more locations, to redesigning their mobile trailer. In such a brief amount of time, this business has grown tremendously, and the customers have been loving every bit of it. 

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