A&E Coffee Roastery buys downtown Manchester cafe

‘We have been thinking of expansion for some time,’ says the Amherst firm’s owner

Amherst-based A&E Coffee Roastery & Tea has acquired the downtown Manchester shop J. Dubs Coffee.

The change will take place on Monday, June 9, when A&E owner Emeran Langmaid takes over the Elm Street site from founders Jim and Felicia Whitney and it is officially renamed A&E Coffee Roastery & Tea. The Whitneys opened the shop in 2008.

“We have been thinking of expansion for some time, and we couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than to take over J. Dubs in Manchester,” Langmaid said. “Not only was the time right for us, but the opportunity was ideal. Jim and Felicia have built a successful business with a loyal following of customers.”

As for the Whitneys, “it was a great adventure to build this business from the ground up, and now is the best time to move on to the next adventure,” said Jim Whitney.

Langmaid said she intends to keep the shop open for between one and two weeks after June 9 and then close for approximately three weeks for renovations. The anticipated grand reopening is during the week of July 7.