Student-run trail cafe in West Newton opens 3rd season with expanded hours

The Outpost River’s Edge Eatery cafe in West Newton is back in business for its third season, with extended Saturday hours and a new hotline for ordering food.

Located in a converted cargo container along the Great Allegheny Passage trail and the bank of the Youghiogheny River, the cafe is operated by West Newton’s nonprofit Waypoint Youth and Community Center. It employs area high school students, mostly from the Yough district.

“Our team has worked diligently to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all our visitors,” said Jalena Morse, general manager of the Outpost and program director at the youth center. “We are grateful for the overwhelming support from our patrons and look forward to another fantastic season.”

With its signature Smash Burger, the cafe has become popular with area residents, as well as with trail users from as far away as Turkey and China, said Chris Morse, Waypoint CEO.

During this year’s opening weekend, which began April 14, he said, “We sold 481 burgers. We almost doubled sales from the previous year.”

Customers now can call ahead to place takeout orders at 1-616-BURGERS.

The menu is expanding to include poutine, a Canadian specialty that combines french fries with gravy and cheese curds. A new burger variety will be spiced up with a jalapeno sauce.

The Outpost pavilion provides seating for patrons and a stage for acoustic musicians, who perform from 5 to 8 p.m. on select summer evenings.

“It’s become a place for the community,” Morse said.

A community garden has been developed next to the cafe.

“We want to use some of the produce from the garden in our menu items,” Morse said. “It teaches the kids about sustainability.”

A dozen students work at the Outpost. Half of them are interns placed through a program of the Workforce Investment Board of Westmoreland and Fayette counties, and the others are graduates of the program.

“We manage the cafe, but the students know all the inner workings of it,” Morse said.

Proceeds from the Outpost help to support the youth center and its activities, along with contributions from patrons.

New home for youth center

With programming for more than 350 children per day, Waypoint has reached the capacity of the 1,200-square-foot building it leases on South Second Street.

Morse said the nonprofit was able to acquire a 9,000-square-foot former lumber mill on Mallard Street. He’s hoping to move the youth center into part of the complex this summer, with tentative plans to convert a warehouse section into an event center.