1902 Coffee House opening soon

ODESSA – Jeremy Smith and his fiancée Amanda Wallace arrived in Odessa this week to take over operation of the former Crab Creek Coffee Haus located near the western edge of town. The business had been for sale for some time. To Smith and Wallace, it looked like a wonderful job opportunity, as well as a way to re-connect with part of Smith's extended family. The road to realizing their dream, however, was less than smooth. They were denied a loan to purchase the business outright. But when a close friend heard of their difficulty, he made the purchase and is having them operate it under a lease-to-buy agreement.

Their plans for the business are to continue serving coffee, as well as soup and sandwiches. They will also carry Grannie BarBar's baked goods and have plans for drawing people to their location for various events. Grannie and her husband, aka Barb and Jerry Walter, are Smith's great aunt and uncle, part of his deep roots in Odessa. He is the son of Sidney Smith and the grandson of Don Smith and has aunts and uncles and cousins scattered in and around Odessa. As a child, he spent summers in the Odessa area and the school year in California, where his mother had relocated after she and Sidney split up.

Jeremy's working life began with providing security as an employee of the federal government. After that, he became a bounty hunter for a few years. His most recent job was working as a bail bondsman. He told The Record that he was very tired of riding herd on grown adults who acted like toddlers and refused to own their behavior. He was ready for something completely different.

Wallace is a native of Deer Park but grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of the town. She attended Riverside High School in Chattaroy, which was about the same distance from her home as was Deer Park High, where her mother was a teacher. Her family opted to have her attend a different school from where her mother worked. Wallace has worked mostly in retail but says she is ready to try something new and is excited about the challenges ahead.

Smith and Wallace had fully intended to be a married couple by now, but Covid disrupted their plans. They decided to wait out the pandemic and then have the wedding they really want, with as much family in attendance as possible. Smith has three children from an earlier relationship, and Wallace also has a 10-year-old daughter, who will be attending school in Odessa. In fact, she was introduced to her new classmates on Monday, when the family arrived here from Spokane and visited the local school.