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Bean Bank Coffee owners Amy and Dave Cocheo stand inside their newly opened coffee shop and bakery at Freshtown Plaza in Amenia on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Photo provided
Community involvement is central to the shop’s mission, owners Amy and Dave Cocheo said during an interview Tuesday, Sept. 8.
“We will always be interested in community involvement,” Dave Cocheo said. He emphasized the importance of learning about the area’s history and working with local organizations while building a stable customer base. Through the business, he hopes to support the work of a variety of local groups.
Amy Cocheo’s interest in coffee, brewing and baking began with her grandmother, Mary, who taught her the craft.
“She fell in love with it,” Dave Cocheo said, adding that the family also includes a chef. An interest in baking spread through the family.
Having moved to Millerton a year ago, both saw the vacant bank branch building as a possibility, Cocheo said, crediting the 2025 Planning Board’s online survey results for sparking the idea of opening a bakery at the location. The survey report had cited a bakery as the top need in the town.
“We thought people might really enjoy having our bakery and at the same time we would get to do what we enjoy doing,” Cocheo said.
“It’s been busy,” Cocheo said of the new business. As fall approaches, the shop will offer even more coffee options, including pumpkin spice, and will begin making “steamers.” Steamers are steamed milk with assorted flavors. The winter season will also feature more tea varieties.
Current offerings include a selection of pastries as an accompaniment to different types of espresso, lattes, and hot and iced coffee. Coffee is sourced from Peak’s in Syracuse, and the teas are Harney’s.
Bean Bank Coffee is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop is closed on Sunday. For more information visit, www.beanbankamenia.com.
Bean Bank Coffee is now open at Freshtown Plaza, offering drive-through service with a selection of pastries, coffee and tea.Photo by Leila Hawken
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St. Johns Ledges along the Appalachian Trail in Kent, where a 30-year-old Great Barrington man died Thursday, Sept. 10, after falling approximately 40 feet while rock climbing.
Photo by Graham Corrigan
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Environmental Conservation Police responded to the area at about 2:30 p.m. off River Road and announced Salmon’s death later that day.
Kent Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tim Sneller, who was among the first responders on the scene, said Salmon was part of a group of about 12 climbers participating in a climbing class. He was believed to be one of the instructors.
“I think everyone was in shock from that [climbing] group,” Sneller said. “They were huddled up and debriefing, and they were definitely shocked.”
The ledges are less than a mile from the parking area, with the base of the climbing area about a seven-minute hike from where emergency vehicles could park, Sneller said.
Approximately two dozen first responders were at the scene, including 12 to 14 who entered the woods. Responders came from Kent, Warren, Gaylordsville and Sherman, with an ambulance crew and paramedic responding from New Milford.
Sneller said he could not recall another death or serious injury at the ledges and that emergency calls from the area are uncommon.
Salmon was transported to New Milford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances of the fall remain under investigation.
Emergency responders gather near St. Johns Ledges in Kent on Thursday, Sept. 10, after a 30-year-old rock climber fell to his death.Photo by Graham Corrigan
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