LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Jake's Java recently celebrated its one year anniversary.

 

"It's been really great. It's been incredibly emotional. It feels like a community hug. Being able to talk about the boys and have a legacy and memory for each and every one of them is really an amazing part of Jake's Java world here," owner Kim Krautter said.

 

Krautter said she wants people to see the coffeeshop as a place of love and fun. It was opened last year in honor of her son, Jacob Galliher, who lost his life during an Air Force exercise in 2023. He'd talked with his family about opening a coffeeshop — similar to the one where he met his wife, Ivy — when he got out of the service. 

 

She opened Jake's Java in his honor last June and the day was a memorial not only the late staff sergeant but also to the seven other crewman on his Osprey, which was operating with the call sign Gundam 22. 

 

"Jake's Java is a place of love and community and positivity. It's a place where I would like to see the growth being everyone comfortable coming here, whether it's a little one running through a sprinkler or a senior playing croquet. Jake was often pulling people together, of all dynamics around the community, and I want to continue that," Krautter said.

 

"I also have been venturing outside these walls a little bit and doing a little bit of catering. I've done some graduation parties with charcuterie boards providing like a continental breakfast for weddings this summer. And we have other ideas of growth too and to be continued on that part."

 

The coffeeshop has had some challenges during the winter season but is pulling out of it with the better weather.