03 Nov 2012 The Neighborhood Coffee Shop
by Don Bingham
The traffic flows rapidly through Greenbrier on Highway 65 but if you glance toward the east, almost in the middle of town, you’ll discover a small treasure called The Neighborhood Coffee Shop.
Next door to a florist and nestled just off the highway at 34 South Broadview, June Carter and her family have opened a delightful oasis of tradition, good will, good conversation and good food.
June has been the sole proprietor since May, and she explained that “I’m tired, but I’m living the dream.”
June has catered for years and simply loves to cook. This shows in the chalk-board menus that hang from the ceiling; menus with daily specials, customer favorites and new ventures for Greenbrier.
The Neighborhood Coffee Shop is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The little jewel box-type shop has four or five tables and a couch — sometimes customers share table space — that provide a wonderful “down home” welcoming atmosphere that we all enjoy from time-to-time. And that’s what you will enjoy about the shop — spending a few minutes of time to feast on the offerings.
The atmosphere is comfortable and inviting — even to the collection of license plates on the walls and coffee table. The collection stems from June’s family traveling while in the military service. For breakfast, June makes, individually, the Cappuccino, Latte or Mocha, the Macchiato, omelets and ham and cheese croissant. A popular item on the breakfast menu is the chocolate chip waffle.
In between the early crowd, she is preparing the salads, soups and sandwiches for the day’s luncheon fare.
No one can miss the array of clear glass domed covered desserts that are made from “scratch” — including pumpkin rolls, pies and cookies. The day we visited, the soups were baked potato, taco and creamy tomato basil.
June has the support of her family — a major plus of any one-lady operation. She and her husband, Tim, have two daughters in college and one daughter assists when possible with the shop. To explain how indepth the “hands on” production is done, June or her husband actually do all the grocery shopping — no large delivery trucks at this point in the business venture but maybe in the future as Greenbrier and the 501 community continue to support the establishment.
June does catering and offers menu choices for the shop, full catered meals and weddings. “Greenbrier has been so supportive of us and we love our community,” she said. “The restaurant has been a God-thing.”
For more information, contact The Neighborhood Coffee Shop at 501.679.0414.
