Friendly skeletons greet the customers at Pot Heads, the coffee shop located off Route 13 in Bensalem. Sometimes they sport Santa hats or bunny ears. In the summer, they break out bucket hats and grass skirts. But they’re always there, paying tribute to co-owner Faith Noga’s daughter Mila, who passed away at the age of 14.

“When she was little, her imaginary friend was a skeleton,” Noga said. “… She told me his name was Blah, because he’d pop out of corners and go ‘blah!’ to scare her.”

MORE: The War on Drugs’ holiday benefit concert series is revived with three shows at Johnny Brenda’s

The skeletons won’t be quite as prominent at Pot Heads’ second location, but Mila’s spirit will still be present. The new shop, a 1,394-square-foot space inside the Jenkintown Pavilion office complex, will lean into her “girly side,” Noga said, with crystals and “metaphysical” touches. The menu will be the same as the one at Bensalem, which serves a banana chocolate chip muffin made from Mila’s recipe and specialty drinks inspired by her favorite stories. (Past themes include “Alice in Wonderland” and “Coraline.”) Noga hopes to open in early December.

She started the original shop in Bensalem with her brother-in-law Chris Watson in 2021, just a year after her daughter’s death. Mila had been diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 6, Noga explained, but by the time she entered middle school, her doctors believed she had outgrown the condition. Months after she stopped taking her medication, however, Mila developed an eating disorder and the seizures returned. After experiencing multiple attacks the night of Oct. 23, 2020, Mila suffered cardiac arrest.

Noga was a teacher at the time and found being around children all day too difficult in her grief. She had always been a big coffee drinker, something she jokes Mila “used to give me hell for,” and had spent months considering the best foods and recipes to restore her daughter’s weight. A cafe felt like the natural next step. Watson understood; he and Noga’s sister had lost their son William in a drowning accident years earlier, when he was barely 2.

After Pot Heads was up and running, the pair hired Maggie Smith to manage the shop. She and Noga became fast friends. They began discussing an expansion, initially considering a spot inside the Juniper Village retirement community. Though that opportunity fell through, a customer later pointed them to the Jenkintown Pavilion. Now, the partners are simply waiting to finish up inspections and final touches before they launch the Jenkintown shop. 

Noga said customers will find a mix of bar and couch seating, plus the “eccentric” vibe she’s long curated in Bucks County. The new location could also feature a familiar friend.

“We might have one skeleton,” she conceded with a laugh.

Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
 | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.