Northern Stage to Open Ghost Light Coffee Bar; Grand Opening to Feature Tommy Crawford

Northern Stage will open a pop-up coffee shop, the Ghost Light Coffee Bar at the Swift Cafe in the lobby at the Barrette Center for the Arts. The cafe will open its doors on Monday, October 9, and operate from 12-5pm, Monday through Friday. The current pop-up shop is scheduled to operate through November 10. There will be live music by local folk musician and Northern Stage company member Tommy Crawford on October 9 from 12pm.

The cafe will serve Mountain Grove Coffee, roasted in White River Junction, and will offer drip coffee and hot espresso drinks, as well as select sweet and savory treats. Seating areas in the Roesch Lobby will feature furniture from Northern Stage's vast collection of props and set pieces. Free WiFi will be available.

"We are thrilled to welcome our community into our shared space,” said Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne. “Just as our theater is a place where audiences and artists come together, we want our cafe to bring people together and give folks a place where they can study, think, chat, and just relax.” 

Managing Director Jason Smoller added “We have a vision of folks doing homework, meeting for coffee, and reading, surrounded by the creative buzz of rehearsals in the theater and the physical pieces that have appeared in our sets over the years.”

Northern Stage's BOLD Associate Artistic Director Sarah Wansley shared that the cafe is “at once inspired by similar theater cafes at The National Theatre in London and NYC's Signature Theatre, and will fill a real need in our community. With the closure of Juel and Piecemeal Pies in town, we hope to offer folks a place to sit down for a cup of coffee after 3 pm. Beyond the coffee, we hope this space will eventually host live music and cabaret performances, book clubs and parent gatherings. We want Northern Stage to feel like a second home to our whole community.” 

The Swift Cafe was built in 2015 as the concession stand at the Barrette Center for the Arts, and in 2023 began serving wine and beer in addition to soft drinks and snacks. The expansion of the Ghost Light Coffee Bar now opens up the entire lobby to the Upper Valley, whether one comes here to work, converse, or simply experience a cozy afternoon in downtown White River Junction. The creative and comfortable setting invites all to gather, get to know Northern Stage, and be a part of the community. 

Ghost Light Coffee Bar Hours 
Monday - Friday: 12:00-5:00 PM

The Ghost Light Coffee Bar at the Swift Cafe
The Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts
Northern Stage
74 Gates St
White River Junction, VT 05001

Northern Stage's 2023/24 Season will open with Sylvia Khoury's Pulitzer Prize finalist Selling Kabul on October 11-29. More information on Northern Stage's 2023/24 Season and subscriptions can be found at https://northernstage.org/2023-24-season/. Tickets prices range from $19 to $69. All preview seats are $34 with $19 tickets available for students and $20 tickets available for those under age 25. Access for All tickets (for EBT card holders) are $5 and are available for any performance while ticket supplies last.  To purchase, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org.

Northern Stage (northernstage.org) is a regional non-profit LORT-D professional theater company located in White River Junction, VT. Northern Stage actively engages its audiences with world-class productions and extensive educational and community outreach programs in its new home, the Barrette Center for the Arts. Founded in 1997, the company has offered more than 150 professional productions of new works, classics, and musicals. Now in its 26th Season, Northern Stage serves over 50,000 people. In 2014, the company launched a new play festival that has cultivated seven world premiere productions and three Off-Broadway transfers, including The New York Times Critic's Pick Only Yesterday. Northern Stage's breadth of programming supports the company's mission of “changing lives, one story at a time.”

Photo credit: Greg Bruce Hubbard

To post a comment, you must register and login.