Belleville couple giving this Shiloh farmhouse a new life as a coffeehouse and cafe
One of our readers asked me this week what was going on with the former Shiloh Valley Grill at 430 S. Main St. in Shiloh.
The old farmhouse will be the home for June’s Breakfast + Patio, set to open in the spring.
Owner and proprietor Liz Lingelbach Welzbacher, 30, of Belleville, who grew up in Shiloh and Mascoutah, said plans are to open a breakfast-oriented coffeehouse/café.
Food served at June’s will come from locally sourced and seasonal produce. Baked goods such as muffins and scones will be available. June’s will serve coffee from Blueprint Coffee, a specialty roaster in St. Louis.
Lingelbach Welzbacher and her husband, Jon Welzbacher, 34, recently moved back to the area from St. Louis. They had also traveled a lot prior to the pandemic.
During the lockdown, the couple decided that they wanted a more “locally-oriented life,” said Lingelbach Welzbacher, and after moving back, realized they needed a place to hang out.
So they set out to create one.
“It’s been a long process,” said Lingelbach Welzbacher, starting with the purchase of the property in March 2020, just before the pandemic lockdown.
With renovation and restoration currently underway, the building is now barely recognizable to those more familiar with the white siding and gray tiled roof. (I actually drove past it … twice.)
The building has new siding in a darker grayish-brown. New windows have been installed, and the three windows and two doors at the front lower level have been replaced with two windows and one doorway.
Lingelbach Welzbacher said that in addition to the cosmetic changes, some rebuilding was required, including the foundation. The site plans for drainage had to be revisited as well.
The farmhouse was originally built in 1905 and previously housed the Shiloh Valley Grill, which opened in 1998. Prior to that, it was a coffee shop called This Old Coffeehouse, which opened in May 1996 and closed the following year.
Lingelbach Welzbacher said she has many childhood memories of the building when it housed Shiloh Valley Grill and hopes that her business “can be sort of a new community.”
I will follow the progress for June’s Breakfast + Patio and report new information as it becomes available.
In the meantime, anyone interested can join June’s mailing list for opening details, pop-up event dates and other info at junesinshiloh.com. Information can also be found on June’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 12:16 PM.
