Shaky Hands Coffee Shop

My name is Bromlyn Fitzgerald, and I am the proud owner of Shaky Hands Coffee Shop.

I grew up in the quaint Victorian town of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where I spent countless hours in dance classes from the age of five through eighteen. My passion for dance led me to Penn State University, where I earned a BA in Theatre with a focus on Dance Performance in 2013. After graduation, I chose to stay local for another year, continuing to dance with the university rather than pursuing a career in a larger city. Since I had been working at a local movie theater since I was 16, I was promoted to assistant manager in 2014, and to gain more financial independence, I also picked up a part-time job at a coffee shop. In early 2015, an unexpected opportunity arose when my boss at the coffee shop asked if I wanted to buy the business. My immediate thought was, If I don’t buy this coffee shop, I won’t have a job. So, in March, I took a leap of faith, secured my first business loan for $10,000, and transitioned from employee to owner over a single weekend. Since then, I have embraced the challenge of growing and shaping Daily Dose Cafe to fit my lifestyle, constantly trying new things and expanding my vision. Now, I’m ready to lay down deeper roots and create a welcoming space where people can gather, connect, and enjoy their favorite drinks and snacks.I purchased my first coffee shop from my boss in 2015, transitioning from an employee on a Friday to an owner on a Monday. It was a 120-square-foot café inside a medical center, where I made breakfast, lunch, baked goods, weekly soups, and rotating daily lunch specials. I closed it in August 2019 to embark on a new adventure—Bees Knees Coffee, a mobile coffee trailer.

A mobile coffee unit turned out to be the perfect business model for the incoming COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Our popularity grew as I shared my journey on Instagram and Facebook, highlighting both the hilarious and challenging moments of business ownership. Along the way, I learned more about myself—how to fix a sink, repair a generator, change my own oil, and more.

By the end of 2020, we started bottling our drinks, and in 2021, we tackled a full schedule—taking the trailer out as often as possible while continuing our wholesale and pickup/delivery services for bottled drinks. As pandemic-related uncertainty eased, customers frequently asked where our storefront was, prompting me to search for a brick-and-mortar location.

In March 2023, I signed a lease for our permanent space—Shaky Hands Coffee Shop and we opened in June of 2025.