Flowery Branch Waking Up and (ah!) Smelling the Coffee

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Larry Hartstein - Staff - Atlanta Journal Constitution
Thursday, November 14, 2002

The idea hit them like a jolt of espresso. Relaxing in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Randy and Wanda Dill talked about their dream of running their own business. But what kind? Then they looked around. "We had not really seen anything that we wanted to do," Randy Dill said. "This thing just hit us."

On Nov. 2, about a year after that brainstorm, the couple opened Common Grounds Coffee Shoppe on historic Main Street in Flowery Branch. They found the location with the same spontaneity. Coming from the airport after their Vancouver trip, "we decided to drive through Flowery Branch, and this was the first building my wife saw," Randy Dill said. "She pointed at it and said 'That's the one.' " The building, which is across the street from City Hall, was last used about 15 years ago as a laundromat. It took the Dills six months and "a bunch" of money to renovate it, Dill said. Residents who are working to revitalize the historic downtown say Common Grounds is exactly the type of business that can help. "It's a good thing because it brings people to Main Street," said Dinah Wayne, manager of the city's Better Hometown program, an all-volunteer effort to spruce up downtown. Common Grounds is the second eatery to open on Main Street this year, following the Flowery Branch Yacht Club. Wayne's son, Alex, who recruits businesses to downtown for the Better Hometown program, said the focus now will be on adding shops.

Main Street buildings date to the late 1800s, and Flowery Branch hopes to capitalize on that turn-of-the-century charm. "It could be such a neat thing, such an attractive, unique and vibrant area," Alex Wayne said. Common Grounds serves specialty coffees, including its own brand, as well as breakfast, sandwiches and pastries. Soups and salads will be offered soon. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. So far, business is good. "The people around here have been tremendously supportive of us," said Dill, 44, a longtim e south Hall County resident who used to edit a car sales book. "A lot of people are coming from Gainesville and Buford, and we're seeing a lot of local folks, too."