Kelly and Jarvis Roach, owners of Alpha Omega Coffee and Games, at 32 S. Main Street, have decided to close their storefront, and sell games exclusively online as of January 31. They stopped serving drinks last week, and are selling off many things inside the shop.

The coffee shop, opened in September of 2010, and offered specialty coffees and drinks, board games and gaming tournaments, in a family-friendly atmosphere.

“We decided that we would rather end this chapter of our life on a good note, rather than a bad one,” said Kelly. “By having the shop open, we’ve had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people, and we’ve made some lifelong friendships. We will sincerely miss having the shop open, but we look forward to continuing to be a part of the Cedar Springs community.”

Kelly has taken a job at the Cedar Springs Public Library, and hopes to make many of the events she hosted at the coffee shop a part of the things offered at the library.

Customers can still buy games from their shop at Amazon.com.

By Judy Reed

The annual “Mingle with Kris Kringle” in downtown Cedar Springs gets a little bigger every year, and is starting to become a tradition for families in the community.

Last Saturday’s event, sponsored by the Cedar Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, was a day-long affair, and kicked off with about 40 kids and adults showing up at the library to make decorations to hang on the tree. Perry Hopkins, who organized the event for Chamber, said there was also a great turnout for the story time with Mrs. Clause at Perry’s Place llc for herbs, teas and more, and the Christmas Puzzle time with Santa’s Elves at Alpha Omega Coffee and Games.

There was one glitch—the parade started a half hour late because Santa was running later than expected. But on the bright side, the parade had more participants this year, with the American Legion walking in it, and the cheerleaders leading Santa. Mayor pro-tem Pam Conley also walked in the parade, and helped Santa with his countdown for the tree lighting.

The Red Flannel Queen and Court mingled with residents near the tree, while waiting for Santa, and there was also a petting zoo, and a live nativity by Calvary Assembly of God Church.

The Cedar Springs Historical Society held a tour of the museum after the tree lighting (see page 2).

About 30 people turned out Tuesday evening for the Cedar Springs City Council Candidate Forum hosted by the Community Action Network and The Cedar Springs Post newspaper.

Six of the seven candidates running for City Council were on hand to answer questions from the emcee and the audience. Candidate Ashley Bremmer was missing due to illness.

The Post and the Community Action Network would like to thank all who attended, and both Metron and Alpha Omega Coffee and Games for their donations of refreshments and other supplies for the evening.