LiB’s Market is crossing the border with a serious caffeine play. The Salem shop’s micro roastery, Full City Roastery, is set to open a new café at 74 North Market Street in downtown East Palestine, bringing a larger roasting operation and an outdoor gathering lawn to the village’s main commercial strip. Owner Ben Ratner, who first built LiB’s as a small in-house roastery, says the East Palestine outpost will finally give the team room to expand distribution and host more community events. Construction is tied to a planned downtown plaza, and the owners are aiming for a later-2026 opening.
As reported by What Now Columbus, Ratner said, “We signed the lease last month,” and expects the shop to open roughly two months after the village’s bidding process kicks off. The outlet notes that construction on the plaza is expected to run at least through the end of the spring. What Now Columbus also points out that the team currently roasts in-house at LiB’s and uses espresso equipment from Mill City Roasters in Minneapolis.
The Morning Journal reported that LiB’s Full City Roastery will anchor a roughly 1,600-square-foot building on Market Street, a space designed to seat about 40 people inside and 20 outside, which is roughly triple the footprint of the Salem shop. According to the paper, village crews have already started tearing out the former bank drive-thru lot, and officials are framing the café as a deliberate piece of downtown revitalization rather than just another storefront. Ratner has also created donor tiers to help fund the expansion, the Morning Journal adds.
The East Palestine Community Improvement Corporation says it acquired the 74 North Market Street property in December 2024 to convert into a public plaza intended for events, performances, and family programming. The organization called the purchase a “critical first step” in downtown recovery and says the plaza will feature green space and pedestrian improvements. Local leaders are betting that a coffee anchor can help pull more foot traffic back into the business district.
What to Expect in the Cup
Regulars in Salem will recognize the drinks lineup. The plan is to pour the same signatures that made LiB’s a neighborhood favorite: 20-ounce frozen lattes, cappuccinos, flare white and cortados, plus drip coffee, alongside a compact food menu of wraps, flatbreads, and pastries. Ratner told What Now Columbus that the East Palestine shop will look and feel different from the Salem location, and that he intends to roll out dinner options down the line. The larger footprint is designed to handle both daily traffic and events, from yoga sessions on the lawn to family-focused programming.
A Community Anchor, Not Just a Counter
Ratner told the Morning Journal that the new roasting capacity could be “three or four times” what they do now, a jump he said could open doors to broader retail distribution and larger wholesale accounts. The plaza plan leans heavily on programming, with officials talking about weekend bustle, school partnerships, and recurring family events that they hope will help stitch the village center back together. If everything tracks with the current plans, the roastery is poised to become a regular meeting spot for residents and visitors from nearby towns.
Next up, contractors and village officials will move through bidding and permitting over the coming weeks, and Ratner says he will share a solid opening timeline once those pieces are locked in. For now, Full City is posting construction and planning updates on its social channels, and the owners say they will announce key dates as the plaza build progresses.
