ThreeBirds offers drinks, treats and a welcoming atmosphere.
Nested in a 19th-century Victorian mansion on Bushkill Street is ThreeBirds Coffee House: an independent coffee shop, a community hub and, more recently, the runner-up for USA Today’s 2024 Best10 Readers’ Choice competition for best independent coffee shop.
“There’s something special about coffee shops that people feel like it’s an extension of their homes, and that’s something that we really like to cultivate,” said Joseph Langdon, an owner of ThreeBirds.
Langdon, along with his wife Jennifer Murray, opened the doors of ThreeBirds in 2019. The couple sees the win as a sign of their acceptance into the community.
“We’re stoked about it,” Langdon said. “When we started out, our goal for ourselves — we wanted to become a local institution that people in the area considered part of their own lives.”
“Anything beyond that is just extra,” he continued.
The full roster of finalists was selected by a USA Today “expert panel,” chosen for their cozy atmospheres, friendly baristas and unique menus. The top 10 list includes coffee shops from across the U.S., with the number one pick located in Texas.
For Langdon, it is important to recognize and celebrate independent coffee shops’ authenticity, as the USA Today list does.
“People can come here and they see the people who own it working here,” Langdon said. “We’re not shareholders somewhere else. We’re members of the community here.”
The final rankings were determined by a fan vote, necessitating a strong community of supporters. USA Today called the coffee shop “a 19th-century work of art” and “a modern masterpiece in coffee preparation.”
“There’s a reason that you don’t see coffee shops in renovated old mansions very often,” Langdon said. “You need a really supportive community to make it work.”
The support in securing a top-two finish has been “tremendous,” according to Langdon.
“We had so many people coming up to us saying, ‘Oh, I voted every day. I’m telling all my friends to vote,’” Langdon said. “I think it’s just a sign of how engaged the community is and how much they really support their independent businesses.”
The competition was shared on ThreeBirds’ social media and through Easton Main Street Initiative, a subsidiary of the Greater Easton Development Partnership which provides support for small businesses and promotes the interconnectivity of Easton’s business community.
“I think they are a lot more than just a coffee shop,” said Julie VanOsdol, the main street manager of the Easton Main Street Initiative. “They understand what community spirit means and they have made the space that people are comfortable to hang out.”
VanOsdol said she has witnessed the power of word-of-mouth recommendations.
“I’ve been bragging about ThreeBirds for as long as I’ve had this job,” VanOsdol said. “Some of my best friends are in Bethlehem and they will drive just to hang out at ThreeBirds.”
“This is just that on a much bigger scale, which is really cool and really deserved,” she said about the USA Today recognition.
Langdon has already noticed an influx of new customers.
“Mostly we hope that it just allows us to continue what we’ve been doing here, allow us to survive,” Langdon said. “We don’t know what the future holds, but we feel a little bit more confident about it now.”
Last year, fellow downtown staple Easton Public Market placed number one in the 2023 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for best public market. Jared Mast ‘04, the executive director of the Greater Easton Development Partnership that serves as the market’s landlord, believes that the recognition brought in new customers from across the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
“If you live in the Lehigh Valley and you weren’t aware of the Easton Public Market or hadn’t gotten to it yet — or hadn’t gotten to ThreeBirds — I think it does push people to give it a shot and see what the hype is about,” Mast said.
Mast believes that such victories also help bring national visibility to the city as a whole.
“We just need to continue to tell our story that this small city on the edge of Pennsylvania-New Jersey is a great place to come and visit,” Mast said.
ThreeBirds is popular with community members across Easton, including Lafayette College students.
“It being housed in the mansion is just really appealing — it’s a really great vibe in there and I get work done really efficiently in there,” said Lauren Davidson ‘25, who visits the coffee shop weekly.
“It just feels like another little niche in Easton that just has become another home,” she continued.
For Langdon and Murray, the work is just getting started.
“We’re celebrating by working our butts off,” Langdon said. “We’ve been very busy this week, but we don’t have any particular celebration planned, but maybe we’ll go out to enjoy one of the fine restaurants here in Easton.”
