LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Jake’s Java is a new spot for coffee, but its name and décor mean so much more.

The shop is dedicated to honoring Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher. 

He was one of eight crew members killed when an osprey aircraft crashed during a training mission in Japan.

Jake dreamed of opening a family-run coffee shop with his wife, Ivy, after his time in the Air Force. 

To keep his dream alive, Ivy and Jake’s mother took a trip to Greylock Grounds, the former coffee shop, where they wanted to learn more about running a coffee shop from owner Joe Prince. Inside the shop they noticed two things relating to Jake.

“When we entered the building there was a Spy vs. Spy poster on the refrigerator and Ivy noticed it cause Jacob had the same patch,” said Jake’s mom, Kim Krautter. “And then there was a $2 bill on the wall, which Ivy also noticed because she had given Jacob a $2 bill as good luck, and we were telling Joe the story, he said, ‘I think I need to sell this to you.’"

Krautter said that interaction was about two months ago. 

“We feel like we are creating the legacy that Jake wanted to have and it kind of grew from there, to not only honor Jacob but to honor the entire Gundam 22 crew,” said Krautter.

To honor the fallen, Kim reached out to the mothers of the seven other crew members to learn more about their sons. 

She asked each of them for a biography of their sons to help local artists decorate a picnic table for each crew member. The seven other crew members the benches are dedicated to are Maj. Jeffrey Hoernemann, Maj. Eric Spendlove, Maj. Luke Unrath, Capt. Terrell Brayman, Technical Sgt. Zachary Lavoy, Staff Sgt. Jake Turnage and Senior Airman Brian Johnson.

“We just want to make sure that everybody’s remembering who they were and the sacrifice that they made,” Krautter said.

Jake’s nephew, Christian, and some of Jakes friends painted his table. It includes him and his family, his Taconic football silhouette, Mount Fuji, and a beach from Florida where Jake and Ivy lived.

The benches will be out in front of Jake’s Java for people to sit at and enjoy.

“This to me is an event of celebration and honor, and we want to create a legacy and want people to say Jacob’s name every day when they’re drinking his coffee and visiting Jake’s Java,” said Krautter.

The grand opening is Saturday at 9 a.m. and will last until 2 p.m. at 20 Williamstown Rd, Lanesborough. There will be a number of speakers, a dedication ceremony and a flag raising, and moving forward the shop’s goal will be like the shops sign says, “honoring his legacy one cup at a time.”