Handmade art depicting planets, landscapes, and other outdoor scenes scatter the slight grey walls of Lake Shore Coffee House. Meanwhile, antique coffee grinders, Moka pots, pastel green and pink tables with white chairs, fill the small space with a sense that someone could be stepping into a time machine to the 1990s. The smell of coffee floats above the chatter from customers and slight hum from an old fridge filled with bottled drinks near the front door looking outside onto 22032 Lakeshore Blvd., one of Euclid’s busiest streets. Greg Lawrence, owner of Lake Shore Coffee House, sits drinking coffee, warmly greeting customers coming in for their afternoon caffeine injection. The outside of the Lake Shore Coffee House, 22032 Lakeshore Blvd in Euclid is seen. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) He said that he started in the coffee business right before Starbucks became a household name, beating them to the punch when he opened the Euclid location in 1992. “They (Starbucks) were only a couple years old and showing really great growth potential, so I thought why not have a place like that here in Euclid,” Lawrence said, taking a sip from a large black coffee mug embossed with “Papa you are the best.” “I grew up here and stuck around and just felt like it would be a good addition to the neighborhood and a boost to the downtown area and it’s proven to be 30 years later.” An out-of-order payphone can be seen, still in place from the coffee house’s opening. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Different coffee memorabilia are seen inside the Lake Shore Coffee House. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) 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He said that goal was always to put people and community first above the search for the almighty profit and because of that, he’s kept prices low with most coffees on the menu still costing less than $4. “They come back, after having moved or gone away, and say ‘oh it looks pretty much the same as it did when you opened,’” Lawrence said. “We haven’t changed the decor too much, some of the things are a little worn but that’s a good sign of aging. The whole idea was kind of to beat the corporate people to the punch and set up and make it not a chain and a local place owned and operated for the neighborhood, and it served its purpose well.” The community, he said, has embraced the shop over the years. With people even meeting their spouses between the coffee house’s walls and years later bringing in their children to start the cycle over again. “We definitely play a role in the community as far as just (being) a place for people to connect or reconnect,” Lawrence said. “We have dubbed ourselves as ‘Euclid’s Meeting Place’ and have kind of held onto that for all these years and that’s proven pretty true because people will come in and have their conversations, their meetings, read or study or just come in by themselves to hook-up with somebody just to chat. “People have had their first dates here and ended up getting married… even a couple of people that have worked here together have ended up in long-term relationships so that’s kind of fun.” Megan MacKinnon and Phil Dibianca talk inside the Lake Shore Coffee House. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) He has sourced his beans from Caruso’s Coffee Roasters in Brecksville since they opened. “They are a local roaster, and we started out with them because they had additional things to go with the coffee,” Lawrence said. “It made it easier for us and they were experts in roasting and if you are going to be a coffee house you darn well better have really good coffee.” Containers with different flavor of coffee can be seen inside the Lake Shore Coffee House. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Besides the rotating coffee flavors like Chocolate Raspberry and Jamaican Me Crazy he said people buy their specialty drinks like the Almond Joy and the Mocha people by the gallon. “We have one family that gets a hold of me one or two days before a major holiday to set aside a gallon or two for us… it’s a lot of fun,” Lawrence added. Different ice cream flavors for sale and for drinks are pictured. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Phil Dibianca a regular at the Lake Shore Coffee House for around six years, talks about his families’ past. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) He said that when he isn’t working at the coffee house, he’s busy being a real estate broker, which helps him keep menu prices low so people don’t have to view coffee as a luxury. “I price everything to keep people coming back, not to make people feel like they want it but can’t afford to go back and stop back in again,” Lawrence said. “One of my thoughts at the very beginning is that we have to keep things at a reasonable price because I want people to understand that they should treat themselves and they should treat themselves well. “We started with a 12-ounce cup of coffee, and it was a dollar, we are up to a $1.75 for that… Because honestly if I were to go into someone’s else’s business, I would feel comfortable paying that price, I don’t want it to be painful, it’s supposed to be you’re coming here because you want to.” Phil Dibianca, Greg Lawrence and Megan MacKinnon are pictured in the Lake Shore Coffee House. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) He said that although there are many drive-thru options for coffee, he hopes that people take the time to park their cars and walk the few steps to his front door instead. “It’s only a few feet from the parking spot to the front door here,” Lawrence added with a smile. “I know it’s tempting to make the right turn into the drive-thru, but we are here…”