Sunday, August 03, 2008
Banking on a new coffee shop
Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea has opened a location in the Wachovia Tower.
Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
Barista Kelsey Doss serves Linda Wright (left) and Susan Woods of Wachovia Securities at the new Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea shop in Wachovia Tower.
Unlike some of Mill Mountain's area locations, this shop does not serve a full breakfast menu.
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People who work in a downtown Roanoke high-rise office building or who park in its adjacent garage now are an appetizing customer niche for a local coffee retailer.
For a little more than a week, Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea has been brewing its java and other beverages in the lobby of the Wachovia Tower at the corner of South Jefferson Street and Salem Avenue. The coffee and food retailer has opened a shop in a 250-square-foot space beside the tower's security desk.
The arrival of the new shop comes after Mill Mountain shifted its downtown store to new digs at 117 Campbell Ave. in May.
Demand for java from the Wachovia Tower's approximately 400 employees inspired Mill Mountain's expansion into the office building.
Dennis Cronk of Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group said he approached the coffee retailer about opening a shop in the lobby. Poe & Cronk manages and leases the office building.
"We have a lot of people who have requested over the years that we provide a similar amenity," Cronk said.
By serving coffee, tea and other beverages, Mill Mountain hopes to entice people who work for companies located in the tower or who pass through its lobby from the parking garage. The potential of drawing a lucrative customer base appears high.
About 550 people will work inside the Wachovia Tower once architectural and engineering firm Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern moves into the building by the end of the year, Cronk said. That move will add about 160 employees.
Cronk estimated that more than 100 people park their vehicles in the tower's parking garage, though they do not work inside the tower. Many stroll through its lobby to get to their offices elsewhere in downtown, he said.
The Wachovia Tower already is 96 percent occupied, Cronk added. It opened in 1991, rises 20 floors and houses approximately 218,000 square feet of office space, he said.
Luis Murillo, who is district manager for Mill Mountain, described the retailer's new Wachovia Tower space as a convenient stop for customers and a "good opportunity" for its business.
Unlike some of Mill Mountain's other Roanoke Valley locations, this small shop does not serve a full breakfast menu. It sells muffins, scones, cookies, yogurt and other grab-and-go foods.
Customers, however, can place orders for lunch. Sandwiches and other fare on Mill Mountain's lunch menu are prepared at its Campbell Avenue location and delivered to the tower shop.
Already, there has been early demand for lunch delivery. On its first day open, Mill Mountain sold at least three lunches at the tower location, Murillo said.
This coffee retailer has a history in the Roanoke Valley. Dave Johnson opened Mill Mountain's first shop in downtown Roanoke in 1990. Since then, the retailer has grown to include three other locations in the Roanoke Valley and two in Richmond. One is a coffee kiosk inside a Richmond hospital.
For now, the Wachovia Tower shop opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m. Eventually, the afternoon hours may expand depending on customer traffic, Murillo said.
And Mill Mountain may not be done growing in the Roanoke Valley. Murillo said plans are brewing for an additional location, but he would not disclose details.
