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Approximately 100 members of the Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce came out Tuesday to welcome the Coffee Corner to Easley’s Main Street.

The new coffee shop was designed as a part of renovations to the downtown location of Robinsons Funeral Home. That fact drew national news media attention about a month ago because of its location at the downtown mortuary. News stories in national media numbered more than 300.

Robinson took questions about locating the coffee shop at the funeral home in stride Sunday at a grand opening of renovations to the funeral home. Leading up to the ribbon cutting for Sunday’s funeral home renovations, he got several teasing questions whether he was serving coffee that day.

The coffee shop had opened the previous Tuesday but was closed on Sunday. Coffee Corner staff members were introduced at Sunday’s event.

In opening remarks on Sunday, Robinson asked the crowd teasingly, “ Have you heard that we are going to be making and serving coffee?”

He said that he had heard that Mayor Larry Bagwell was out of town for a conference the day of the news media attention. The mayor was asked whether he knew his town was on the national TV news because a local funeral home was opening a coffee shop. “I don’t really know what he after that,” Robinson quipped.

He went on to say that the design puts the coffee shop on the opposite side of the building from the visitation area to help maintain the respectful nature of family activities there. The layout of the coffee shop has a separate entrance on the Main Street side of the funeral home and a patio for seating outdoors. The shop is open 6:30 a.m. To 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Judy Rozelle whose husband, John’s, company, Rozelle Stone in Powdersville provided the granite counter tops for the coffee shop, said that when she first came to Easley there were no coffee shops and she would drive to Greenville for premium coffee. She welcomed the new establishment.

Guests of Tuesday open house tried multiple two-ounce cups of the different coffees along with cake and cookies.