Scott Zeigen, MD, FAAO,
owner of Richboro Eye Care
and Richboro coffee.
RICHBORO, Pa.—Dr. Scott Zeigen, MD, FAAO, has always been a bit of a self-starter. He’s been running his own ophthalmology practice, Richmond Eye Care, since 1990 and just a few years later, started a company called medDB, LLC to design and sell software to health care professionals, especially those in the optical industry.

Given his entrepreneurial habits, it’s no surprise that Zeigen has started yet another business, however, it is unique that he’s drifted from the eyecare industry and opened up a classic coffee shop a few doors down from his practice.

“I’ve always been very particular about coffee,” Zeigen explained. “I’ve had friends asking me to make coffee at their parties for years. I eventually bought my own espresso machine to make cappuccinos, espressos and lattes in my home—I learned to do it all online.”

Zeigen runs Richboro Coffee with Tom Jenkins, who Zeigen hired to work for his software company a few years ago. When they discovered that Patricia Ritter, another employee of medDB, LLC, was an expert at roasting coffee beans, they decided to open up the first traditional coffee shop in Richboro, hiring Ritter as their in-house coffee roasting master. ​

  
Tom Jenkins (l) and Dr. Scott Zeigen, co-owners of Richboro Coffee.Zeigen has made over a thousand
coffee drinks in order to perfect
his latte art.

Opened in May of this year, the coffee shop is just three doors down from Richboro Eye Care, which Zeigen claims was perfect for overseeing installations and deliveries throughout the day as they prepared to open.

Because Richboro Eye Care is only open part-time, Zeigen has plenty of time to manage both businesses, and even works a few days a week, as long as he doesn’t have a surgery scheduled. Patients occasionally walk into Richboro Coffee and are surprised to find Dr. Zeigen behind the counter, ready to take their order.

“It’s a lot of fun when patients come to the coffee shop,” said Zeigen. “They’ll see me, do a double-take and say, ‘Dr. Zeigen, is that you?’ And I’ll say, ‘Yes, it’s me, what can I get for you?’”

Despite the differences in running an ophthalmology practice versus a coffee shop, there seem to be some similarities that Zeigen uses to ensure success of both businesses. For example, there are significant parallels in customer service.

  
Richboro Eye Care, owned by Dr. Scott Zeigen,
has been open for almost 30 years. 		Open since May 2017, Richboro Coffee is just
three doors down from Zeigen’s eyecare practice.

“I’m really not a serious guy,” Zeigen explained. “I often joke around with my patients when it’s appropriate, and I do the same thing with my customers to keep them happy. And despite the differences in product, I have to educate a customer about their coffee choices the same way I might have to talk to a patient about progressive lenses.”

Additionally, both eye surgery and traditional coffee-making require a lot of practice and precision. “I’ve done more coffee drinks than cataract surgeries at this point,” laughed Zeigen. “I’ve probably made over 1,200 drinks just to practice my latte art!”