'Cork' pops in Roseboro

Mar. 20—The community convened in the heart of Roseboro with the Spell family on Saturday to celebrate the official grand opening of Cork & Brew.

It was a gorgeous morning as the parking lot was full around the newly-renovated building at 304 Martin Luther King Blvd. (old N.C. 24), at the site that once housed First Citizens Bank. The support from those who came to commemorate this moment was huge as both sides of the sidewalk in front of the building were packed with people.

When the ribbon was finally cut, patrons poured in and the inside remained packed into the afternoon.

"I'd just like to say thank you to all of you for coming out today," General Manager Chris Starling said during the grand opening. "I've seen some faces that have been here several times. Since we had a soft opening last week, it went very well. Everything's still not where we want to be, but we're going to be the best we can be each and every moment."

"If you run across anything that you need, get with me on anything — please don't hesitate," he added. "My staff's gonna be very helpful and we're all looking forward to getting to know each and everyone by name."

Now that the grand opening has been made official just what kind of place is Cork & Brew? At its core they are a coffee shop serving all the favorites — latte, cappuccino, espresso, cold brews and the list goes on. What makes them unique, however, is that they offer way more than just coffees.

Food is also a part of their services and with that comes a full breakfast and dinner menu with sandwiches, salads and a large assortment of desserts — just a fraction of the options. The establishment also sells retail items such as gummy worms, artisan chips, stickers and much more.

Their biggest surprise, though, is that they serve alcohol during their entire hours of operation. That includes both beer and wine.

Cork & Brew is owned by Autryville local and former Roseboro resident Pam Spell. Looking for something to engage in following her retirement, Spell decided to pursue a dream she's always had of owning a coffee shop. For her, there was no better place to put it than the town she once called home.

The dream began to come to fruition just over a year ago, on March 3 of last year, starting after her and husband Terry Spell purchased the then-abandoned First Citizens building. Fast forward to almost exactly a year later and they'd complete the remodel. Now everything has finally been set up and is ready to go.

During the grand opening, Spell was all over the place mingling with those who came to support them, her smile never leaving. When asked how it felt to reach this moment, she'd share only a few words, ones filled with gratitude.

"It's absolutely amazing; we're just thrilled with the community's support and the number of people that have turned out," she said. "Everybody seems to be excited for us to be here and just being back and being in what was my hometown and being able to give back to the community, is just fabulous."

Terry Spell also shared a few short words on that topic during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"Our family, we appreciate your support," he said. "The support has been overwhelming from the community. From the beginning, we just wanted to create a simple, comfortable coffee shop that the community could enjoy. We've assembled a phenomenal team to achieve that and we're excited to serve the community here at Cork & Brew."

Those two weren't the only ones who were excited about the grand opening. There was another constant grin on the face of their daughter Harper Spell, who's an advisor at Cork & Brew.

"We're so excited — this is a dream come true," she said. "This has been something that's been in the works for years now. It's a dream come true for our whole family. All of us have put in work for this. I'm just excited for the community to have a place where everybody can come and enjoy each other and sit down and have a coffee, have something to eat, have a glass of wine in the evenings, whatever they want."

"It's just going to be a great place for the community to come together and get to know each other and be another place for everybody to get together and enjoy company."

Naturally, as the Cork & Brew opening up in Roseboro means new business for the town, the town commissioners are just as happy about the opening. To express their thoughts on yet another milestone in the development of Roseboro, their LeadforNC/AmeriCorp Fellow, Tyler Wise, shared comments at the ceremony.

"On behalf of the town board of commissioners, mayor and town staff, I would like to share how excited and appreciative we are to have Cork & Brew in Roseboro," she said. "Thank you to the Spell family for illustrating what it means to take root and bloom. Your investment into the former First Citizens Bank building has not gone unnoticed."

"Everyone has been talking about what the menu may look like and what is inside the building," Wise continued. "We commend the Cork & Brew team for their attention to detail and engagement with the community. The building looks amazing and the menu is wonderful. I know the clients visiting Pretty Paws can't wait to have a coffee as they wait for their furbabies to be groomed or our BloomFest volunteer group as they take over downtown for one of the biggest festivals in the county in a few weeks."

"Cork & Brew will also be a great stop for hikers on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail who are coming to experience the Pondberry Preserve project once it is completed," she added. "So again, on behalf of the town of Roseboro thank you for choosing us and we look forward to seeing your continuous efforts in making Roseboro better — one coffee at a time."

To the community, Pam Spell left off her final remarks with a few words to those she hopes comes to see them at Cork & Brew.

"Come check us out," she said. "We're here for you so just come and enjoy a good cup of coffee.

Cork & Brew's hours of operation currently are from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Sunday.

Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.