By MARCIA STEFFENS
Niles Daily Star

CASSOPOLIS – Customers who have discovered the new coffee shop and bakery on State Street in Cassopolis have been pleasantly surprised and already are returning for more visits.
The building was left completely empty by the last owners, who tried to bring the old Arby’s back to life, but had a limited selection and were relying mainly on coffee sales.
Steve Henley and his wife Linda Song have a different approach.
Pasofino Coffee Bakery still have coffee and lattes, but is offering breakfast sandwiches, lunch and dinner items and also ice cream and much more.
The loaves of bread and also the donuts can be preordered in quantity, or they can serve groups, as they did last weekend for a ladies church group on Saturday morning.
Steve has even combined the donuts they make fresh each day with the ice cream to create a donut sundae, which he said is already popular.
They are also offering “good” friendly service and will take requests for bakery items. They offer Wi-Fi, a television and a meeting place.
In the summer they are open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. the rest of the week.
During the summer, Steve’s son Austin, 15, is here from Ohio helping out.
The couple who admit they met on eHarmony.com, live in Berrien Springs and both have other jobs, but have devoted many hours both redoing the inside of the restaurant and cooking and baking.
“Everyone who walks through that door is my boss,” Steve said, adding, “when I get home, that’s my boss,” pointing to Linda.
Linda is a cardiac care nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in South Bend, Ind. a few days a week. She brings what she learned from her father, a cook in northern China to the tables in Cass County.
“It’s familiar (Chinese) food,” she said. Her noodles and meat filled pockets are already popular. She also makes a flat bread.
Steve is also an engineer for the RV industry. He used to drive by the empty building for nine months, while they were looking for a place to open and saw the for sale sign.
Since they made the decision to locate in Cassopolis, it has been nonstop work. There former hobbies of biking and hiking for Steve and quilting and sewing for Linda have been put on the back burner, where they are cooking up treats for their customers in Cassopolis.
They are still waiting on parts to be able to reopen the drive in window.
“The name, Pasofino, is a Spanish breed of horse,” Linda said. “It sounds beautiful.”
To request special orders, call (269) 612-4099.