New Altoona coffee shop Daily Grind opens

 

Gallery • 8 Photos

Charlie Kephart

Rise and Shine. The Daily Grind opens at 6 a.m. almost every morning. The restaurant is closed on Mondays to give the employees a day off.

 

The Daily Grind offers different options for food and drinks for customers to enjoy.

Co-owners Kurt Maidl and Brian Stroh opened the restaurant at the beginning of October. Maidl and Stroh both worked in the food industry previously, and they wanted a change of pace.

“I owned a pizza shop, The Deli at Mansion Park, and he [Maidl] had worked at every high-end restaurant in town. We had both been in the restaurant business for some time, and we both were over working late nights,” Stroh said. 

Maidl and Stroh wanted to work in the morning instead of the evening. They both wanted to try to get all of their work done at the beginning of the day. 

“I was working evenings all the time, and now I never miss birthdays, events, trick-or-treating and things like that,” Maidl said. 

Stroh takes care of the business alongside the restaurant while Maidl works as the chef. Maidl attended the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center for his culinary training. Maidl then went on to the International Culinary Academy in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

“I’ve always liked cooking and helping around the house. I jumped into cooking and found a love for it at 14,” Maidl said. 

When Maidl and Stroh were trying to come up with an idea for their restaurant, they discussed how they thought there were no restaurants like the place they wanted to open. 

“We talked about how in Altoona there are some coffee shops and a couple breakfast places, but we hadn’t seen anybody really do a good coffee and breakfast shop,” Stroh said. 

The owners want the restaurant to be talked about amongst students, and they want the community to come out to the restaurant. Junior Alexis Fraundorfer visited ‘The Daily Grind’ recently and loved the experience. 

“It was quite organized and had a touch of DIY style to the interior. The restaurant was very homey. I could just tell the recipes were going to be homemade and fresh,” Fraundorfer said. 

Fraundorfer was satisfied with the food she ordered. Fraundorfer decided to order an omelet. 

“They had a variety of choices like eggs, toast, pancakes, coffees and other things. The homestyle cooked omelet I had melted in my mouth. All of the flavors felt fresh and like they all had a purpose. I kept going back in for more,” Fraundorfer said. 

Fraundorfer also enjoyed the service and the atmosphere inside of ‘The Daily Grind.’ 

“The staff was very friendly and served us with a smile. We sat down pretty quick for it being a new restaurant. More customers were coming in the door behind me waiting to also have breakfast,” Fraundorfer said. 

To see their menu and more information about The Daily Grind, visit their Facebook.