Imagine opening a restaurant on a bit of a whim with no professional culinary experience because:

You love bringing people together around a meal and
Two voices whispered in your ear on the same day to buy an old cafe.

Sound intimidating?

In 2021, for those very reasons, Elizabeth Moro and her husband, Vince, took a leap of faith and opened Centreville Cafe. They’ve been running this thriving third space ever since. The Moros saw the need for community tables and public gathering spaces and felt compelled to become the new owners of Centreville Cafe in Centreville, Delaware.

Elizabeth Moro in the wine cellar at Centreville Cafe

Gathering together at Centreville Cafe

After so many years of being digitally “connected” while being genuinely disconnected by digital distance and divides, we are craving third spaces to be physically together with family and friends. This trend is emerging across all ages, from the rise in popularity of Mahjong groups to the resurgence of malls (courtesy of young Gen Z’ers). We’re craving human connection, and it seems the Moros were ahead of the trend.

The Cafe is a really great space! As a former historic home, the cafe’s many rooms lend themselves to distinct spaces. In some rooms, family and friends can gather around multiple tables or dine near neighbors. Other smaller rooms are set for a more intimate discussion. Every room is uniquely decorated with sentimental touches, from an original large mirror from the home to a long bar, once the counter at a general store where Vince Moro’s father was a regular customer as a kid.

The food is delicious. The vibe is cute, cozy, and casual. And it’s a local business doing the hard work of bringing neighbors together, no matter our political preferences, favorite flowers, or whether we believe Pennsylvania or Delaware has the more favorable tax structure.

Why feature a cafe in Delaware?

Don’t you usually write about Chadds Ford, Jen? Why are you telling us about a cafe in Delaware?

First, I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of third spaces to be in company with strangers, and the Centreville Cafe embodies this mission. There are a handful of gathering spaces in and around Chadds Ford, like Chadds Ford Coffee House, OsoSweet Bakery Cafe, and the Rachel Kohl Community Library. They’re always hoppin’, which tells me we could use more of them.

When you’re thinking about the next place to meet up with friends or grab a bite with a business colleague, keep Centreville Cafe on your menu of options. Particularly because of its layout, it’s perfect for a quiet breakfast or a private conversation.

Second, owner Elizabeth Moro is running to represent us in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. We are in District 160, and she’s campaigning to be our local representative in Harrisburg. I want to help people in our community get to know our prospective representatives, beyond websites and campaign messages scripted by consultants.

Who is she really?
What does she do when she’s not on the campaign trail?
Does she really understand the community and her constituents?
Does she really care what matters to us?

As the owner of a local cafe, Moro chats with “regular” people in the community every day. She crunches the numbers to run a small business despite unpredictable tariffs, rising prices, and a messy marketing space. Her experience offers genuine insight into what it’s like to be a typical citizen in our community.

Elizabeth lives the day-to-day of paying her employees a living wage. She decides when to absorb skyrocketing food prices and when to change prices and menu items. She and Vince find a way to resolve unexpected issues that arise on the busiest days and to serve Dr. Jill Biden, who is surrounded by Secret Service, without turning away regular customers.

To me, Elizabeth feels like a joyful fighter, practicing the “hopemaxxing” popular among young Gen Z’ers. She approaches her work and life with joy and optimism, but is willing to fight like hell when an issue needs to be fought for.

This is precisely the energy she and her husband brought to conserving Crebilly Farm, an arduous effort they ultimately won, along with mountains of help from others. Fun fact: the farm-to-table fundraising dinners she hosted at her home to raise money for Crebilly’s preservation ultimately led her to open Centreville Cafe. We never know where life will take us when we follow our hearts and listen to the little voices nudging us along the way.

At the cafe, in addition to regular meal service, they host birthday parties, baby showers, and even tiny weddings. They cater for a variety of events. And you have to check out the wine cellar!

Everything comes together to support a small business that navigates the consolidation of corporate suppliers and economic ebbs and flows. One of her employees told me the Centreville Cafe is the first restaurant she’s worked at where the employees and customers know each other so well that it starts to feel like family.

Whether it’s coffee shops, cafes, churches, libraries, or our local residents’ association, we need to rebuild a culture of sharing physical space, meals, and experiences with our friends and neighbors. Digital “connection” is overrated, especially when it’s soaked in algorithmic messiness.

Bringing people together around a table, in the words of Elizabeth Moro, “This is how you change America, one table at a time.”