Fork in the Road: All aboard to The Steam Engine!

Scarlett Fortney has been serving up lattes at 5660 SW 29th St. since before the Topeka coffee shop was The Steam Engine.

As a barista for the previous owners, her parents were regulars.

"For years,” Fortney said. “Probably ten years, maybe more than that. They just really loved the place."

So much so, that they decided to buy and rename it in 2017.

"Both of my parents actually work for BNSF, so they have a lot of train background,” Fortney said. “My mom's like whole family worked for BNSF, her dad worked for it, he retired from BNSF. So train history is really in my family."

The shop serves a wide array of food and drinks made in house, including sandwiches, quiches, lattes, and the homemade cherry-filled pop tart topped with icing and sprinkles.

But while the popular vanilla lattes and mochas might bring you in, it’s the people – the ones you know, and the ones you haven’t met yet – that will keep you coming back.

"I know a lot of the regulars actually met here,” Fortney said. “We have a group of people that would come in here at the same time every morning, and now they all sit together."

It’s a place where everyone is family.

"Oh gosh, it means so much to me,” Fortney said. “I've been here for almost three years, so it's kind of like embedded into my life now. I've made some really good relationships with the regulars, I talk to them on a daily basis, and I just love them. I love everybody that comes in here."

The Steam Engine is open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.