I first wrote about the pending advent of this great business just over a month ago. You might want to look back at that post, if you missed it, to learn more about the little jewel that we’ve got here. At that time I said they would be open in about three weeks but, as is often the case, reality slows business openings down a bit. They opened this past Monday morning.
Urban Woman has been pretty keen to sample their goods ever since I brought that most excellent baguette home from the Oak Ridge Store. As we’ve eased into our summer routine with a little time to relax, we shared a morning cup of coffee Monday morning on the lovely porch at the new location of Coffee and Chocolate (which begins serving brunch this Saturday – see you there). After coffee Urban Woman suggested we walk to the end of Market Street to see if the new store had opened.
A sign assuring us they were open sat perched outside the door and owner Donna Sullivan and her daughter Katie along with another employee from the Oak Ridge store were inside. The first day of business, like many, had been fraught with challenges, but sales started racking up immediately. We left with another baguette (I bought this one) and a free sample of a sweet confection resembling a very small cinnamon bun. Both were heavenly.
We returned Tuesday morning for bagels and coffee and they were perfect. We sat outside (isn’t this early July weather crazy good?) at the lone table under the breezeway into the Federal Building courtyard. A steady steam of suited federal employees and lawyers made their way into the new store. People stopped and asked about the business. And we enjoyed great bagels and good coffee.
The hours will be limited to roughly 8:00 – 2:00, so it might be hard for those of us who typically hit the road out of downtown early in the morning to work elsewhere. Several kinds of bread are available and others could be made special order. Inside the store I found six or eight different types of bagels, healthy salads, fruit parfait, cheese cake, several kinds of bread – Donna says she’ll always have baguettes handy. Wraps, Paninis, sandwiches made of fresh-baked bagel bread, muffins, cookies and quiche are all waiting. For a small place, it’s packed.
Bagels and other items are made fresh every morning. If you want a larger order (like for your office), you might want to make your order one day for the next, though if you are flexible with your order, you could probably find plenty of choices for your group on shorter notice.
With this post, I’m wishing all of you a very good fourth of July, Independence Day. Hopefully the coming rain won’t stop all of us from enjoying a bit of family time. I’ll check back in with my Sunday weekly planning post, (unless I see you at the Coffee and Chocolate brunch on Saturday) and we’ll get back to it next week.