On What Grounds: Berlin's clever coffee shop

The verdict is in — downtown Berlin's newest coffee shop is guilty, of being delicious.

On What Grounds occupies the space that once belonged to an attorney's office years ago on 103 N. Main St.

Owners Dana Gottloeb and his fiancé Denise Tolson wanted to link the shop's name to the building's legal past.

"We even got clever with our logo by balancing two coffee cups on the justice scale," Gottloeb said.

Having opened just last month, On What Grounds has advertised little but has seen great success.

The quaint and cozy coffee shop encourages its patrons to come in from the cold, slink back in a warm leather chair and enjoy a cup of coffee handcrafted to order.

"We are tickled with the positive response we've received in such a short time," Gottloeb said. "We already have repeat customers."

Gourmet selection

The coffee shop only purchases beans from Intelligentsia Coffee, a direct trade, high-end coffee roasting company and retailer.

On What Grounds' coffee is high-quality, but Gottloeb said prices are reasonable.

Gottloeb and Tolson have mastered the art of 'pour-over coffees' by combining old and new brewing techniques.

"Basically, we grind the beans fresh and pour them into a filter over a cup," Gottloeb said. "We then slowly brew that cup of coffee with a hot water kettle."

The pour-over method is time consuming, but produces an extraordinarily fresh cup of coffee.

Mike Andrews, who works across the street at Culver's Antiques, frequently stops in.

"The coffee here is phenomenal," Andrews said. "You can tell when coffee is made with love."

On What Grounds also prepares breakfast sandwhiches, served on freshly baked bagels or croissants, made to order all day.

The bakery case is full of homemade rice krispie treats, chocolate-dipped cookies, crumb cake, muffins, brownies, chocolate-dipped graham crackers and warm scones.

A chocolatier by hobby, Tolson said On What Grounds has been able to successfully combine her and Gottloeb's passions into one business.

"He's been in the coffee business for 25 years and I've been making chocolate and baking for about the same amount of time," Tolson said. "This shop is just the perfect blend and compromise."

There's wine too

On What Grounds also compliments the Maryland Wine Bar, the small laid back bar that's rented out to the coffee shop.

The two businesses share the cozy front lounge area that has 'coffee shop' written all over it with some vino inspired accents like a hanging chandelier made of wine glasses and an oak barrel end table.

The Wine Bar has live entertainment until 10 p.m. on Fridays. Gottloeb and Tolson stay open until 9 p.m. in case someone wants to sip on a nonalcoholic beverage.

"We really have the perfect relationship with the Wine Bar," Tolson said. "Our busy time is the mornings and her's is the evenings. We don't compete for business, but rather we compliment one another."