WEEDSPORT - To walk into Burritt's Cafe, it's hard to believe that only a year ago the coffee shop's fresco covered exterior walls and rich wooden interior had for many years stood dusty and vacant.

But through the vision of owners Darryl Wolford and his wife, Sherry Saben-Wolford, the once empty hardware store has been converted into an elegant place for coffee, food, art and music.

“A huge amount of work went into this,” Sherry said. The couple started work on the front of the shop at the end of January 2005 and opened six weeks later. “Then we worked on the rest of the place,” Sherry continued, “and were officially opened on May 6, 2006. So really this was all done in about 12 weeks.”

The shop was once the site of O.W. Burritt's, a tool and machine shop. Burritt had been one of Weedsport's most prominent citizens in the 1800s, erecting an opera house, which was the first sheet metal structure to be built at that time.

Taking the shop's name from Burritt, the couple is proud to keep this history alive, with pictures hanging in the shop's main entrance.

“He helped bring so much life into this place,” Darryl said. “That is something that we wanted to share and to help preserve.”

But what they started out as a coffee shop has grown to encompass much more under its roof. Along with a wide selection of dark and light roast fair trade coffees roasted by Cafe Kubal, the shop also offers iced coffee along with fruit smoothies, vitamin water, iced and hot tea, milk, juice as well as fresh made pastries and desserts from Alpine Bakery.

Initially this was what the Wolfords had planned to offer, but it quickly became apparent that they should offer something more.

“A friend of mine actually came in and asked for a wrap,” Sherry said. “So we started making those,

and then we looked at chili and soup. We were looking at canned things, and I said there was no way I was going to serve that, so we started making chili and soup here and it has grown from there.”

Burritt's menu now includes salads, breakfast sandwiches and paninis.

From the coffee to the food, the focus is on offering something that both taste good and is good for the customer. Sherry said they are doing their best to offer healthy alternatives.

“Our pastries are made with butter, which is better for you than the shortening that is usually used. And we make sure that we use products that are safe for diabetics,” she said.

Good food and good coffee are key ingredients to making a warm and welcoming establishment and one that customers will return to again and again.

“Everything here is good,” said Pat Tilton of Port Byron. “We come here pretty regularly. The people are nice and make you feel welcome, and (make you) want to come back.”

But Burritt's is more than a filling meal. It has grown into one of the premiere facilities in the area for live music.

“When we first opened, we thought we'd have some performances ... maybe once a month,” Darryl said. “But now we have bands and performers here five nights a week.”

Burritt's has played host to established acts like The Lost Boys as well as up and coming acts, covering the spectrum of music from folk to blues, but always with a family atmosphere in mind.

“We never charge a cover,” Darryl said. “We want everyone to be able to come here and sit and enjoy some good live music. We want parents to be able to bring their kids and relax. And we hope the kids have fun too.”

Darryl said that Burritt's has been lucky that the popularity of the shop as a place to play has spread quickly in the music community.

“Bands come to us,” he said.

The cafe has also become a center for local artists to exhibit painting, photography and other original works.

According to Ted Tilton, a regular customer, who will also be exhibiting some wood carvings, this is the kind of thing that the village needs.

“Weedsport really needs a place like this,” Tilton reiterated. “The music, the art - it is really a benefit to the community.”

As spring and summer approach, Burritt's owners will be hard at work expanding the shop to include more seating and extending into a back patio for outdoor seating.

Both said that they have been influenced by the writings of Thomas Moore, particularly citing a book called “The Enchantment of Everyday Life,” something they plan to continue to bring to Weedsport.

“A lot of what he talks about in his books is what we want to do here,” Darryl said. “There are a lot of cookie-cutter places out there, and I think we pay the price for that in our lives. I think people should be enchanted by life and with this place; we are trying to bring a little bit of that enchantment back into Weedsport.”