Social Eats Café is your go-to café located on the corner of Main Street and East End Avenue in the heart of Mohawk Valley Region in Oneonta, New York serving breakfast, lunch and brunch all day dedicated to making a change. From plate to purpose, the cafe is on a mission to serve. The history of the location is preserved in its exterior design resembling former fill stations. 546 Main Street was also the first or the last stop on the former trolley line in the city.
Welcome to your third place! Allow me to introduce myself, I am Michelle Iannelli-Rubin, Owner/Manager and pictured here with my family. Together we own, operate and live in the neighborhood of the café. East End Oneonta is home to us. I’ve put together a menu offering you fair-trade & organic specialty coffee by Café Femenino, loose-leaf teas by family owned & operated since 2004, The Whistling Kettle, scratch-made food sourced locally from local farm families & baked goods made on site inspired by flavors of the season. We offer a full bar with classic cocktails, beer and wine to complete our offerings. A”third place” for the community, we are on a mission to improve lives in the community one experience at a time.
The fundamentals of the café came to paper in 2017 inspired by travel to cafés around the globe, education, research and training on opening a specialty coffee shop and a passion, to do good with good food and purpose. With the belief that we all have a dichotomy of selves – the selfish and the selfless; alongside the believe that we all have a social, environmental & community responsibility, I developed a profitable business model that could encourage positive change while providing guests with a memorable experience. A for profit cafe, every dollar spent with us, will ultimately serve the region.
A strong supporter of the “slow-food movement”, our menu based on the concept that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it, and good for the planet. Slow food is food that is grown locally (preferably organically and in season) by farmers and workers who are paid fairly.
A little about me. I was born in Long Island to Anna & Michael Iannelli (former owners of Iannelli’s Ristorante). In 1985, I moved to Schoharie County and graduated from Cobleskill Central School in 1993 with a degree in Business and French. Raised in the hills of Schoharie County, I am a first generation Italian-American that appreciates all cultural roots and connection, and chose to study close to home at SUNY Oneonta. After completing my Bachelors in French in 1997, Oneonta became home. A foodie at heart with an appreciation of cultures, I’ve traveled the globe with my family, and love living like the locals when we do. From the southern isles of the Caribbean; the massive Rocky Mountains; the west coast of the Seattle waterfront; and the southern coast of Italy & Spain, along with the romantic streets of city of Paris, our travels and life experiences attribute to the cafe menu and atmosphere. My entrepreneurial spirit is driven by strong values in family, community, and helping fellow humans.
Do good. Be kind. Spread positivity. Social Eats Café is one of kind and is dedicated to empowering all. Stop in and say hi!!
Michelle & Family