SALISBURY — For many local residents and weekenders, for vacationers and visitors, a day that doesn’t begin with a visit to The Roast in Salisbury is a day that doesn’t begin well. For some, it’s the expertly prepared cup of joe; for others, it’s the presence of owner Joe Jaklitsch. Work crews from landscaping and contracting companies stop in to fuel up early in the morning. Parents stop by either before or after dropping their children at school. Retirees have the luxury of sitting down and greeting one and all as they roll through at the beginning of the day — whenever that might be.Of course, this probably describes many coffee shops in America. Akin to the neighborhood bar, coffee shops are often a hub in a small town. For many residents of Salisbury, The Roast is a home away from home. And Joe Jaklitsch, the paternalistic proprietor, is the heart and soul of The Roast.So news that Jaklitsch is going to close The Roast on Sunday, Oct. 23, was received with reactions ranging from surprise to despair. The dismay of his customers is two-fold. They feel bereft at the thought of losing a comfortable, welcoming hangout, with world-class lattes and scrumptious, buttery baked goods. And they feel deep concern for Jaklitsch. It is his health, specifically his heart condition, that makes it impossible for him to continue the pace he has maintained for so long.On a gray morning last week, many of the loyal denizens spoke about The Roast and Joe and the importance of both in their lives and the life of the town. A recurring thread in their comments was how many friendships were formed there over a cup of coffee.“It’s the epicenter of town and our version of the general store,” commented Tom Murphy. “When I first came to Salisbury I wouldn’t have met all the wonderful people I have, if it wasn’t for Joe and The Roast.” Linda Michaels, a full-time Salisbury resident, seconded that opinion (just before sitting down with her friend Sheryl Kennedy). “When I first moved here, if I didn’t know Joe, I don’t know what I would have done,” she said. “I’ve met so many people here, and I love Joe. And I met my best friend, Sheryl, here.” For her part, Kennedy said, “I will be here every day until he closes.”Elaine La Roche, who owns the Salisbury Pharmacy and the building that houses The Roast, is definite that “there will continue to be a coffee shop behind the pharmacy.”“The Roast has been the social heart of town, thanks to Joe, and we all wish him and his family well,” she said. “There are several individuals who have expressed interest in continuing in his footsteps, and I fully expect that coffee, bagels, good cheer and more will continue to be offered going forward.”Change does sometimes take time, though.“The objective is to have as smooth and timely a transition as possible,” she said, “but there are inspections and licenses required by the state. Hopefully the new operator can accomplish this with as little interruption of service as possible.”As for Jaklitsch, he has regrets but said he has lived his dream. “I’ve had the best job in the world. I’ve really loved everyone who’s come in. The same people have been coming in for years and years and years, and they never seemed to tire of it and neither did I. They’ve subsidized my 15 years of fun.” There have been times when Jaklitsch worked seven days a week, 14 to 16 hours a day. His two daughters, Stephanie and Wallis, both worked at The Roast from an early age, and his wife, Barbara, who is a child welfare educator, has been known to pitch in as well.“It’s the end of an era in our lives,” Barbara said. “Even though the girls have moved away, they always step right in and join us when they’re back in town.” Jaklitsch started working at Riga Mountain Roast in Lakeville when he still lived in Coxsackie, N.Y. At that time, it was owned by his friend, Connie Brown. Jaklitsch had always wanted to have a coffeeshop. She invited him to come check it out. Within two years he had bought the business from her. That was back in 1996. He changed the name to The Roast and a few years later moved into the space connected to the Salisbury Pharmacy, where it has been attracting devoted customers for more than a decade.While Jaklitsch is an accomplished pastry chef (he is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America’s baking program) it should also be said that his lattes are the best (in this reporter’s opinion) this side of Rome, Italy. They should be. Jaklitsch takes enormous pride in creating a superior drink: the freshness of the ground espresso, the temperature of the milk, the finishing flourish, a leaf drawn in foam — or, for extra special customers, a heart. He discards the first pull of the day, in essence warming up the machine for the task ahead. Jaklitsch is moderate in his own coffee consumption, imbibing only one or two shots of espresso over the course of the morning.But it wasn’t only the taste of the coffee that Jaklitsch cared about; he bought only Fair Trade coffee beans and a few years ago switched his coffee cup brand to one that could be composted.All these are things his customers will miss. But the sentiment most often expressed is perhaps best summed up by longtime customer Simon Kirkby, who stops in on his way to his job at Skip Barber.“The Roast is the social center of the village in the morning, and Joe has been a wonderful host all the time he’s been here. I’ll really, really miss him.”And how does Jaklistch feel after more than a decade of standing behind the counter and overseeing the social life of the shop? What would he most like to do? “I would really love to sit down and have a cup of coffee with my friends.”
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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