It is highly unlikely that a patron will leave Orbis Caffe dehydrated. You can go with the flow at this European-style cafe, where you can order a specialty coffee or tea — or a beer, wine or cocktail.

Unlike many coffee-focused peers, this popular Mt. Lebanon shop serves both caffeinated and alcoholic drinks at 675 Washington Road, in the heart of the municipality’s busiest business district.

“Why not offer a choice of coffee or a cocktail or beer?” said Grant Schutte, who owns Orbis with his wife, Sonja. “Sometimes a customer may want to come in for coffee, sometimes for beer. They have options.”

Orbis patrons can select from caffeinated drinks, including cappuccino and brew bar coffees, or cocktails and other alcoholic beverages.

The cafe also offers small plates, house-made desserts, vegan offerings, Sunday brunch and, in Grant Schutte’s words, “a convivial atmosphere” inside a deceptively spacious space that doesn’t feel crowded. It is a popular place for studying, socializing and participating in trivia nights.

The Schuttes have operated Orbis since 2011, when they took over a building previously occupied by a coffee shop, Aldo. They did so 13 years after moving to the Pittsburgh area following a job-related relocation.

An industrial chemist, Grant saw his company acquired by an American firm, Valspar, now part of Sherwin-Williams Paints. The Schuttes relocated to the United Kingdom along with the company, then to Pittsburgh, where the company’s technical center and headquarters are located.

Sonja was a barista at Aldo for several years and, according to her husband, competed in the national barista championships. The couple’s two children, then in college, also worked at Aldo, as did several Orbis staffers.

“We renamed it and became known for our specialty coffees,” Grant said. “We’re a little nerdy about it, but it’s still a huge part of what we do.”

He said the couple “put a bar in during the pandemic” in 2021. “That built on what we’d done. We’ve made things up as we’ve gone along.”

Orbis is tastefully adorned inside and out. Window signs on the storefront are especially impressive.

“The signs were commissioned and hand-done by a friend, Anthony Purcell,” Grant said. “He is one of the few people who do this in Pittsburgh.” Schutte added that the signs “are a combination of gold leaf, variegated copper leaf and paint work.”

The Schuttes are a hard-working duo. Grant said Sonja is in the shop “every day,” and he is often on site when not tending to his chemist duties.

He lauded the “great staff” at Orbis for their work ethic and congeniality.

“We have a nice group of regulars,” Grant said. “We have been reciprocated by goodwill from the community and from Pittsburgh.”

Andrew Wasser, from the Cedarhurst section of the municipality, is among those regulars. He was on hand during a recent Sunday morning, accompanied by his computer.

“There are a few other coffee shops I go to,” he said. “I like the sense of community here, and Graham is super friendly. I usually have coffee and have had a few dinners, but not pastries. The dinners are very good.

“But I don’t care for coffee as much as the feel of community. Just the ambiance. It’s crowded, but not too crowded.”

Carla Druckenbrod, a Mt. Lebanon High School senior from the Sunset Hills neighborhood, is a longtime regular. “I have been studying here since middle school,” she said with a smile.

“My friends and I like to come here or Uptown Coffee, a half-block away. I like the ambiance. It’s super nice.” She said she likes the coffee drinks and the food. “They have the best chai latte I’ve ever had, and the brunches are super good.”

Seven months after relocating from Texas, Taylor Hobbs is an Orbis fan. “The coffee is delicious, and the bagel and lox is a nice treat. You usually don’t get good bagels in south-central Texas.

“The big thing is good food and coffee.”

Sonja and Grant Schutte are pleased with their investment.

“We have been fortunate to have a business that not only survives but thrives,” he said. “We’ve never needed it to pay the mortgage, and we can pay our people more.

“This is a labor-of-love business.”