Good Brotha’s Book Cafe to open second location

By Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com | Source: PennLive

Good Brotha’s Book Cafe is rolling into Steelton in 2022.

The Harrisburg business will open a satellite location at the Steel Works complex, a project located on six blocks from 102 to 230 N. Front St. across the street from Steelton’s borough hall.

Good Brotha’s shared the news on Dec. 2 on a social media post: “We knew that we had found the perfect area to bring great coffee, books and a representation of the culture to Steelton is known for winning, excelling and reaching beyond the measurements of their goals.”

In January, Stefan Hawkins opened Good Brotha’s at 1419 N. Third St. in the city’s midtown neighborhood with books, coffee and food. It is the first black-owned coffee and book shop in Harrisburg.

The cafe is an extension of Good Brotha’s Book Club started by Hawkins and his friends, mostly for young African American men in the community.

“I wanted to show that representation matters because a lot of times our youth doesn’t see themselves in books, they don’t see themselves reflected in movies,” Hawkins said earlier this year. “So I wanted a space where kids could come and see books that look like them.”

For the coffee, Hawkins reached out to a California roaster to brand Fifth Acres Coffee Co., selling a variety of roasts and flavors. The company’s name borrows from the neighborhood where Hawkins grew up at North Fifth Street and Hall Manor in Harrisburg, referred to as South Acres.

The six-acre mixed use development in Steelton is under development by Wormleysburg-based Integrated Development Partners and will consist of four standalone buildings with apartments, retail and office space.

At the complex, construction is expected to begin soon on the Steel Works Apartment, which will have 46 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Good Brotha’s will be located in the building alongside a fitness area, common area and other businesses.

Good Brotha’s said it will work with the local community including Steel-High School District.

“Here at Good Brotha’s, we want to win, and we want to be known as winners along side them Rollers,” read the post. “The area, the people, the environment in Steelton is very welcoming and wholesome.”