Veteran turns former Pitcairn bank into coffeeshop hot spot

It's a chorus of caffeinated beans popping in Pitcairn.Milo Speranzo is causing quite the buzz on Broadway Boulevard."My goal was to bring energy to the business district and to bring a bit of a community gathering spot," he said.He turned the old Mellon Bank into Vault Coffeehouse. The safety deposit boxes have become an integral part of his shop.Speranzo said, at first, "I had no idea what to do with the vault. I had a construction company come in and they just looked at me and said, That's a 6,000-pound door. This is 36 inches of concrete. This is staying forever. As long as the buildings here, this vault is here. And I said, 'What are we going to do with it?'" He decided to make the vault a must-see experience, with lots of Instagram-able moments for friends — a kind of Central Perk for Pitcairn."But to have a location where, one, we could bring some folks in from the outside highlight the town," he said. "But not only this town, really the people, because the people here are just so warm, engaging and really ready to take this to the next level."Speranzo is a Gateway High School graduate who served as a chief in command control in the United States Air Force, including nine tours of duty in the Middle East."I kind of went into the family business," he said. "Both grandfathers, tons of the uncles and aunts and cousins all served. So it was a natural progression."After his military service was complete, Milo was working a civilian job in Washington, D.C., when the pandemic hit. That's when he decided to come back home to be with his family, in addition to a variety of coffees and breakfast and lunch menu items.Vault Coffeehouse has a conference room for business and community meetings, a library, tables for people working remotely, private parties and even a venue for local musicians to perform live. "Over here in the conference room, we had the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce come in, because of the size of the facility, can hold up to 100 people," he said.Speranzo welcomes groups for meetings, birthday parties and people working remotely with their laptops and lattes. Everyone there is supporting a veteran-owned shop."But they come in and they say, 'A veteran-owned coffee shop, we love to support veteran-owned businesses. We love what you're doing with the town. We've heard your story. We've read about it.' The external excitement has been something I absolutely could not have imagined," Speranzo said. "That's been amazing."

PITCAIRN, Pa. —

It's a chorus of caffeinated beans popping in Pitcairn.

Milo Speranzo is causing quite the buzz on Broadway Boulevard.

"My goal was to bring energy to the business district and to bring a bit of a community gathering spot," he said.

He turned the old Mellon Bank into Vault Coffeehouse. The safety deposit boxes have become an integral part of his shop.

Speranzo said, at first, "I had no idea what to do with the vault. I had a construction company come in and they just looked at me and said, That's a 6,000-pound door. This is 36 inches of concrete. This is staying forever. As long as the buildings here, this vault is here. And I said, 'What are we going to do with it?'"

He decided to make the vault a must-see experience, with lots of Instagram-able moments for friends — a kind of Central Perk for Pitcairn.

"But to have a location where, one, we could bring some folks in from the outside highlight the town," he said. "But not only this town, really the people, because the people here are just so warm, engaging and really ready to take this to the next level."

Speranzo is a Gateway High School graduate who served as a chief in command control in the United States Air Force, including nine tours of duty in the Middle East.

"I kind of went into the family business," he said. "Both grandfathers, tons of the uncles and aunts and cousins all served. So it was a natural progression."

After his military service was complete, Milo was working a civilian job in Washington, D.C., when the pandemic hit. That's when he decided to come back home to be with his family, in addition to a variety of coffees and breakfast and lunch menu items.

Vault Coffeehouse has a conference room for business and community meetings, a library, tables for people working remotely, private parties and even a venue for local musicians to perform live.

"Over here in the conference room, we had the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce come in, because of the size of the facility, can hold up to 100 people," he said.

Speranzo welcomes groups for meetings, birthday parties and people working remotely with their laptops and lattes. Everyone there is supporting a veteran-owned shop.

"But they come in and they say, 'A veteran-owned coffee shop, we love to support veteran-owned businesses. We love what you're doing with the town. We've heard your story. We've read about it.' The external excitement has been something I absolutely could not have imagined," Speranzo said. "That's been amazing."

Veteran turns former Pitcairn bank into coffeeshop hot spot

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