Hope & Coffee, Tamaqua’s newest and only coffee shop at 137 Pine St., had its official opening Thursday morning. While Hope and Coffee has many of the same goals as any business, It’s the priorities of its supporters where you find the biggest difference.

A project of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, the driving force behind the new business is Lisa Scheller, chairwoman of Silberline Manufacturing, who admits to being a recovering alcoholic. Every employee is someone whose life has been impacted by an addiction, whether to alcohol or drugs.

Scheller wants those who don’t suffer from an addiction to realize the disease can happen to anyone. She also wants addicts to know that recovery is possible, not just for her, but for “everyone who embraces it.”