You could say that Debbie Mitchell’s opening of a shop in Uptown Westerville was an instance of pure serendipity.
A few years ago, after finding herself without a job, she decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of opening a cafe.
It all seemed to make sense, so naturally, she called it Serendipity.
Last Saturday, in a moment not as serene, Mitchell and her husband Jeff closed their shop’s doors for the last time.
The shop had recently celebrated its three-year anniversary, but Mitchell said that the location of the shop, just off the main strip of State Street, was likely one of the factors that led to the closing of the business.
Mitchell also said she is concerned for the health of her husband, who has a type of multiple sclerosis.
“It’s nothing that he wanted to let anybody really in on, but it’s gotten to the point where we need to prioritize our life right now and taking some time for him to not work so hard is a big thing for us,” she said.
Mitchell said that closing the store was something that she had fought for a while, but eventually had to give in.
“It was something we talked about, that looked like our only option,” she said.
Otterbein’s inability to offer Uptown perks with students’ Cardinal Cards could have been a contributing factor to Serendipity’s end. Mitchell said she wishes that Uptown merchants could strike an agreement with Otterbein to bring more students off campus.
“(There were) tiny little factors that led up to a hard decision,” she said.
The cafe, located just off State Street at 33 E. College Ave., sold coffee, tea, ice cream and sandwiches, among other items. It played host to performances, live music, student coffee hours and other events catered to Otterbein students.
She said it was hard to say goodbye to the place where she intended college students to come to study or just to have fun off campus, but “it just never quite caught on to that.”
“I think I’m going to miss the students, the kids, the young families … I’m going to miss it all, really. That was my dream,” she said. “It’s hard waking up from a dream that you’ve always had.”
Chelsea Musselman, a sophomore art and creative writing major and former employee of Serendipity, said that she considered the Mitchells her family away from home.
“I spent every day of this past summer there,” she said. “It was something that was consistent when everything else wasn’t consistent.”
Mitchell said, “I think we had a great concept. I think we had a great idea. I think maybe Westerville wasn’t ready for it yet.”
Serendipity isn’t the only coffee shop to call Uptown home. Heavenly Cup Espresso, owned by Cheri Stearns and located on 25 N. State St., is another independently owned shop that caters to college students and the community.
While Mitchell mentioned the economy as a potential hindrance, Stearns said she doesn’t think the economy has much of an impact on Uptown businesses.
“It seems that some of the businesses on side streets have a harder time,” Stearns said.
As for the next step in Mitchell’s life, she said that she plans on volunteering to give back to the community as well as using the break to take a much-needed vacation.
Mitchell said that she’s a believer in the philosophy that for every door that closes, a window opens.
Mitchell’s greatest piece of advice for people is to follow their dreams, and not fall into the routine of just waking up, going to work and coming home.
“This world should be made of dreams. They come true,” she said.
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