Young entrepreneur sisters open bakery and coffee shop in Waynesboro

Postmasters Coffee and Bakery has something for every coffee shop enthusiast, from foamy lattes to hot mocha's and everything in-between. 

Located at 11235 Buchanan Trail East in Waynesboro, the shop opened in early June and since has been dazzling the taste buds of its customers. 

Abby said the name for their business was inspired by values that they saw in the postal service, drawing inspiration on how it connects people. "The post office became the gathering place for those in town; something we desire is to be the gathering place for our community."

The Daniels sisters started their journey in 2018 with a 1969 Bee Line tow-behind trailer that they renovated to be a mobile doughnut shop they called Dawn and Dusk Donuts, setting up at farmers markets and catering special events. 

“The community's response has been really awesome,” said Ellyn Daniels who owns the coffee shop with her sister Abby Daniels. “We have a lot of customers who still come to the trailer and are now coming here to Postmasters. This has become a space that is cultivating its own set of new customers.”  

The sisters love of baking comes from a long line of family bakers. 

“We come from very large families and some great bakers,” Abby said. “Our parents and grandparents are really great bakers. We have also had the ability to take a few baking and bread classes to help us learn as well as being able to travel and experience some great bakeries that we draw inspiration from.”

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Looking back at the past weeks of full operation, the decision to restore the old Hut Tavern building to accommodate their brick-and-mortar bakery was an easy one.

“We made a pros and cons list of running the doughnut trailer, and the set-up and tear-down was the worst part, but our favorite part is the conversations we get to have with our customers,” they said.

Having this storefront will allow the duo to focus their energy on developing new menu items while still having the flexibility to cater events with their trailer when necessary.

“Our inspiration for Postmasters was to take functional pieces and add our own details to them,” Ellyn said. “We just like to take things and make them a little more special. "We felt the community needed a place where they could get fresh baked goods to enjoy and have a conversation with their friends."

Notable features include a textured wall, lights specific to the color scheme, exposed wood beams and a jukebox original to the Hut Tavern. 

“When you walk into the shop you will see we tore down some things and left as much as we could to the original building and then built to out to better suit our needs,” Abby said.

“So far it’s been working out really good, we’ve been doing a lot of baking, but at a much different scale. Everything is a lot more fun and a lot more work than we expected but we wouldn’t want to do anything else; it gives us a much larger appreciation for all small business owners.” 

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Bakery items are on a rotating menu as the Daniels sisters focus on what items the community wants as well as any custom orders. 

“We have vegan and gluten-free options each week as well as favorites like sticky buns, croissants, cakes and muffins," Abby said. “Our recipes are inspired form other bakeries around the world, and we tweak them to make the our own.” 

Bill Kohler, director of economic development for Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc. has worked with the duo as vendors at the downtown Waynesboro farmers market since 2018. 

“I feel like we have kind of grown up together at the market. Working with them has been one of the highlights there. It brings us a lot of pride that they are still at the market.” Kohler said. “Being young people and entrepreneurs, they prove that you can do it if you put your mind to it. It’s very exciting to see their success."

Hours of operation for Postmasters are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday thru Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information call 717-655-7172 or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @postmasters.coffee.