![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_8341.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\")
Breakfast Burrito<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
hard business to be in and days get long. I need to know we are making an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Maria and Aaron both came from the non-profit world, so when Aaron went from roasting beans for fun to realizing they had a business opportunity, the couple left their jobs in non-profit to start a new adventure in coffee. Maria did community outreach and fundraising for both a pregnancy center and a food pantry and Aaron worked as a social worker at Hillside Children\u2019s Agency. Their passion for helping others spilled over into Salt City Coffee as they provide free meeting space upstairs to non-profits, give away coffee for fundraisers and galas, and offer free coffee and bagels through their Pay It Forward board.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Pay It Forward board is now well-known in the neighborhood and at the local shelters. Customers pre-buy tokens that are the value of a small coffee or bagel and the tokens are posted on a board near the register. If someone can\u2019t pay for coffee or a bagel, they are encouraged by the staff to take a token. The token is an important part of the process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still that level of transaction,\u201d said Maria. The baristas are taught to look for signs if people can\u2019t pay for coffee or food through mannerisms or behavior. \u201cWe hire baristas based on whether they fit with who we are and what we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Pay It Forward board was part of the vision from the beginning. The goal is \u201cgiving everybody the dignity to have a good cup of coffee, a good bagel, but also to sit in a chair and relax\u2026to use the bathroom. We get panhandlers in the parking lot<\/p>\n and we go out there and say you are not allowed to pandhandle here but you know we will give you free food. If you are hungry and that\u2019s why you\u2019re asking for money, come on in and we will give you free food every day.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Salt City Coffee currently has a staff of five, but they are actively looking for baristas and they want employees to grow with them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe look at their gifts,\u201d said Maria, \u201cIf they are gifted in social media, sure, we\u2019ll let you go that way. We run things completely different. There is a long-term place for you here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Salt City Coffee sources natural, organic and fair trade coffee beans. One of the farms they buy from is women-owned. Salt City is becoming well-known for their cold brew, which is smooth and chocolatey. They serve breakfast all day. For lunch they offer salads, sandwiches, quinoa and acai bowls. Salt City also offers tea, fresh squeezed lemonade and pastries. A lot of the food they serve is tested in the Metthes\u2019 home kitchen first, then they bring it to the staff and hone the recipe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Metthes have three children: Miles, age 6, Eve, age 3, and Juliet, age 2.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOur family really comes first,\u201d Maria said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Salt City Coffee has a nursery upstairs and plans to turn a storage closet into an art nook for kids. Their youngest, Juliet, came one month after they opened the caf\u00e9 and they had to figure out how to balance a growing family with a new business.<\/p>\n Maria suffered from postpartum depression when Juliet was born and had to take a step back from their new business at a time when she felt she was needed at the caf\u00e9 the most.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t open up a business and hit pause,\u201d she said. \u201cI literally checked out. It was hard for me not being a part of the caf\u00e9. I would say to [Aaron], this is our dream. His strong points are my weak and my strong points are his weak. I trust him more than anyone else. This is my dreaming partner about what life could be like.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maria recently spoke at Crouse Hospital about postpartum depression to tell others about their experience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a quiet battle,\u201d Maria said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The West Onondaga location is the first, but Salt City Coffee is opening their second location in the Salt City Market. The Metthes would like to open a third location on the Northside at some point in the future, but always off the beaten path.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe want to go where no other coffee shop wants to go,\u201d Maria said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to get too big. We need to grow, but I still want to know every wholesale partner. I want to know all the baristas. I want it to feel like home. We dream of growth, we dream of impact, while still maintaining who we are. It\u2019s personal to us.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Becca Taurisano Photos by Steven J. Pallone Maria Metthe is all about relationships. \u201cCoffee is a gateway to have conversations, and that builds relationships,\u201d said Maria. She and her husband, Aaron, opened Salt City Coffee two years ago in its Near West Side location. Maria deals with wholesale and community connections…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,102],"tags":[946,945,175],"class_list":["post-2561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-food","tag-maria-metthe","tag-salt-city-coffee","tag-syracuse-eats"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_8305.jpg?fit=5684%2C3764&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2853,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2853","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":0},"title":"SYRACUSE EATS: Syracuse CoKitchen: Creating community through cooking.","author":"Staff","date":"March 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sarah Tietje-Mietz Photos by Steven J. Pallone \u00a0 Coworking spaces like WeWork, Impact Hub and, locally, Syracuse CoWorks, provide professional environments for those not working out of traditional offices. Members have access to the benefits of standard offices, like meeting rooms, communal workspaces, and unlimited WiFi, all at an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_0855-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_0855-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_0855-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_0855-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_0855-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2814,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2814","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":1},"title":"SYRACUSE EATS: Oh My Darling!","author":"Staff","date":"February 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Larry Stansbury Photos by Steven J. Pallone \u00a0 Just across the street from the Landmark Theatre, there\u2019s a place in the downtown Syracuse area that recreates the image of the old theater and honors the Syracuse orange colors. It\u2019s also the place to honor its crowd with a wine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG_0380-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG_0380-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG_0380-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG_0380-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG_0380-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2502,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2502","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":2},"title":"SYRACUSE EATS: Hope Cafe and Tea House pair unique international fare with a mission","author":"Staff","date":"August 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By Christine Dunne Photos by Steven J. Pallone \u00a0 In late 2017, Matthew Cullipher opened the Hope Cafe and Tea House in the village of Liverpool not only to provide customers with delicious food from countries like Peru and Columbia, but also to give hope people in need. Money from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_8190.jpg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_8190.jpg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_8190.jpg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_8190.jpg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_8190.jpg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3545,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3545","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":3},"title":"Out & About – Nectar Espresso Bar and Vintages: Creating a space for coffee and company","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"April 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alyssa Dearborn In the McCarthy Mercantile under Wildflowers Armory in Downtown Syracuse, you can find handcrafted coffee drinks and unique antiques at Nectar Espresso Bar and Vintages. The idea for an espresso bar and vintage shop was conceived during the pandemic. Today, Nicole Guindon\u2019s caf\u00e9 serves delicious lavender lattes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Out & About"","block_context":{"text":"Out & About","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1311"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/A15EF88A-1DB6-42EC-B535-3669C278199B-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/A15EF88A-1DB6-42EC-B535-3669C278199B-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/A15EF88A-1DB6-42EC-B535-3669C278199B-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/A15EF88A-1DB6-42EC-B535-3669C278199B-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2037,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2037","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":4},"title":"The Palace Commons","author":"Staff","date":"September 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Eastwood\u2019s Anchor By Jamie Jenson | Photography by Steven J. Pallone\u00a0 When Gia Palermo was growing up in Eastwood, she and her friends would go to the movies at The Palace Theatre all the time. \u201cEveryone seems to have a story about The Palace Theatre,\u201d Gia said. Most of those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8759.jpg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8759.jpg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8759.jpg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8759.jpg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8759.jpg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1587,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1587","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":5},"title":"Soleil Caf\u00e9","author":"Staff","date":"March 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Serving Sunny Coffee\u00a0 By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Steven J. Pallone\u00a0 Coffee means a lot to Shem and Taylor Doup\u00e9, the husband-and-wife team behind Soleil Caf\u00e9. They met when Taylor was working at Caf\u00e9 Kubal\u2019s Eastwood location. Shem worked nearby and began frequenting the small caf\u00e9 after he met\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1992.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1992.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1992.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1992.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1992.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2566,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions\/2566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_8358.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\")
Acai bowl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_8377.jpg?resize=300%2C202&ssl=1\")
Latte<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n