Santa Claus came for coffee yesterday

Santa was in town for our annual Downtown Open House and he stopped by for coffee and a cinnamon bun.

The ladies were a bit surprised by the holiday visitor, who stopped in the doorway for a picture:



For all of us who've eaten here at The 123 (or even walked in and smelled all the wonderful, yummy aromas), we know Chef Cheryl has been good all year long.

Chef Cheryl gets a hug (Santa must've liked the cinnamon bun):

What a View!

(For more pictures from the top of the hill, go on over to The Taylor County Blog Project)

You can barely see The 123 if you know closely:

Live Music, October 24, 09

Traveling from New Mexico, Cahalen Morrison will be entertaining us tonight.

This Friday October 23

The Weedhawks
A Morgantown favorite
begins @ 8pm
No Cover! (but tips for the band are appreciated)

Friday October 16th

Todd Burge
Friday October 16th 8pm

"From Bob Dylan to Randy Newman to Loudon Wainwright III, the very best singer/songwriters -no matter what their style of music - share a common trait: they all have a great, ironic sense of humor. Todd Burge is West Virginia's contribution to this tradition. Around this state he's probably the 'dean' of all the singer/songwriters. The finest singer & songwriter that we have.”Larry Groce, Host of PBS's Mountain Stage

Saturday October 17

The Ginsangers
Saturday October 17 8pm

We're In the News

"Coffee House Brings Art, Music, Visitors to Grafton"

It's in The State Journal.
Here's the link:
http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=67151

Lunch Today

Hot Roast Beef Sandwich
served open-faced with mashed potatoes and gravy.

The roast was slow cooked to be nice and tender.
The gravy is real gravy.
The mashed potatoes are real potatoes.
No kidding.
Chef Cheryl makes everything from scratch. That's why we do the Daily Hot Special: you're assured that it was made today from the freshest ingredients.
Stop by and try it.

Also:
Now that it's a little bit cooler outside, we've once again added soup. A different soup everyday, and we;re not talking broth here. Our soups are always hearty and fresh.

I'll take some pictures here in a little while when the food is done....

Next Live Music Show

Saturday September 26th

Cracker Stackwell

Authentic delta cosmic fingerpickin' oldtime country blues and ragtime guitar

Show time: 7:30pm

Smoke-free, family friendly

4.00 cover, kids 12 and under are free

MUSIC

The New Familiars are amazing!
Every wonderful thing I'd heard about their music and performance style is true! And then some!
WOW!

(Yes, they'll be back; check the schedule).

Mike Morningstar will be here Friday (Yay!)

Lynn Routzahn will be back (by request) October 3rd.

Tonight

The New Familiars
Friday September 4
7:30pm
Smoke-free and kid friendly
$7.00 cover
Kids 12 and under are Free

"From the foothills of Appalachia a new musical combo has appeared; grown from seeds of the folk, blues, and bluegrass found abundant in the Carolinas, yet shaped by the undeniable power of rock and roll. Known as The New Familiars, these five gentlemen combine an amazing passion for harmony with multi-instrumental talent and unusual storytelling abilities.... "...with their intense live performances, serve as signs pointing to one very clear statement: The New Familiars are a powerful swell in a new wave of honest, roots-derived rock music sweeping the nation."

New Fall Hours

These hours are in effect unless we have entertainment scheduled.

We will be open later on nights with entertainment!

Monday - Thursday: 6:15am - 4:00pm
Friday: 6:15am - 9:00pm
Saturday: 7:15am - 9:00pm
Sunday: CLOSED

Next Live Music Show

The New Familiars
Friday September 4
7:30
$7.00 cover
Kids 12 and under are Free



"From the foothills of Appalachia a new musical combo has appeared; grown from seeds of the folk, blues, and bluegrass found abundant in the Carolinas, yet shaped by the undeniable power of rock and roll. Known as The New Familiars, these five gentlemen combine an amazing passion for harmony with multi-instrumental talent and unusual storytelling abilities....
"...with their intense live performances, serve as signs pointing to one very clear statement: The New Familiars are a powerful swell in a new wave of honest, roots-derived rock music sweeping the nation."

Live Music Friday August 21 - Kelly Ravin

You can get a preview (I guess it would be a pre-hear) of Kelly's music on his Facebook page.



As always: Show starts at 7:30pm. Smoke-free & Family-friendly. There will be a $5 cover; kids 12 and under get in free.

Hours

These hours are in effect unless we have entertainment scheduled.

We will be open later on nights with entertainment!


Monday - Thursday: 6:15am - 4:00pm

Friday: 6:15am - 9:00pm

Saturday: 7:15am - 9:00pm

Sunday: CLOSED

Contact

The Grafton 123 House of Coffee

www.Grafton123.com

Historic Downtown Grafton
123 W Main St
Grafton, WV 26354

Coffee@Grafton123.com

304-903-4717

Live Music this Friday

Lynn Routzahn...."has entertained everywhere from biker bars to black-tie affairs, weddings, funerals, the White House (oh yes), countless pubs, bars, taverns, and clubs. Lynn does what no one else does and does it like no one else can do it!
Lynn has won several awards over the years for some of his original tunes and they are sure to perk your ears..."

The Grafton 123 stage
7:30 start
There is a $5.00 cover, kids 12 and under get in free.


I'll post the menu soon, too, so you can plan on coming early for dinner....

September 11 at The Grafton 123

I just posted a new show for Friday September 11.
Mike Morningstar will be joining us to delight us with his unique style.
Here's a video of Mike during a performance in Morgantown:

Kevin Ford

Thanks, Kevin!
You're great.
And I'm not the only one who thinks so:

Kids are Welcome

Whether you're stopping in for a grab-and-go coffee or planning to come for live entertainment, your entire family is welcome.

We've had lots of kids come to enjoy the music!

Bring Your Kids!

This gorgeous little fellow was dancing and having a great time at last week's show:

Friday July 24th

Kevin Ford
an acoustic solo

as always:
7:30pm
smoke-free
family friendly

Live Music Tonight

@ 7:30.

John Davey & The Apple Tree Experience.

Look in the column to the left for links to their sites.

Thursday July 16: John Davey and The Apple Tree Experience

Thursday July 16th beginning at 7:30pm, The Apple Tree Experience will perform first.
Here's their website: The Apple Tree Experience
Brett & Jake:


The Apple Tree Experience will be followed by John Davey:


See you Thursday!

Live Music: T. Mitchell Bell and the Wandering Coalition

We had a great turn-out for Friday's music!

The first time in the new building! Mirage Sound Company's sound system worked beautifully and the band was great - a folky mix of ballads and toe tappers!

Wyatt, outside looking in, especially loved Luci, the fiddle player:

If you were there: Thank you for the huge show of support!

If you weren't, I hope to see you next time (or sometime soon).

Bathroom wall progression (scramble continued)

Around the 25th of June, the inside space of the lower floor was wide open concrete. Following the plans we'd devised for the bathrooms, I laid ceramic tile in a 12x12 foot area so that the bathroom walls could be built on top of the tile (it's much easier than piecing in the tile around the walls later).


The following picture was taken on July 1st, the day after the bathroom walls were built:


Electric and plumbing were installed before this next picture was taken on July 3rd:






This next picture is taken from a higher angle (on the stairs), but it shows the bathroom wall with drywall. It was taken on July 4th:


The drywall was mudded on July 5th, painted (primed white) on the 6th. Bathroom doors, toilets, and sinks were installed on the 7th. Switches, outlets, lights, and ceiling fans went in on the 8th.


On the 9th, the stage was built and temporary lights and sounds installed:

This is Skip from Mirage Sound Company (THANK YOU, Skip!). By the time this picture was taken, it's already the 10th, but it's about 1:00am. Skip not only installed a temp system, but painted the beam he's hanging the lights on (How's that for service?)!

This is a pretty good crash course in what it took to make it happen, but there's a ton of little things that need done along the way. We had quite a few friends who stopped in at odd hours and helped out. If it wasn't for all their help, this never could have happened. For all your help, we are truly grateful. I hope you all come to relax and enjoy the music often. Thank you!

The scramble to get ready for live music...

PC's been hard at work getting the lower floor of the new addition ready for live music. There was a ton of work to be done when I scheduled T. Mitchell Bell and the Wandering Coalition for Friday July 10th (we made it, too! I'll post about that soon, too...)

Let me show you some pictures...

I think the last construction pictures I showed you were of the incomplete stairs. Here's a picture taken on June 25th that shows a complete, but unfinished, set of stairs. It also shows the bare stud walls and how far we had to go before July 10th:

This next picture was snapped on July 4th. There's a new window installed above the staircase landing, insulation on the walls above the stairs and drywall below the stairs:

I'll start another post to make it easier to add more pics....

News Coverage - The Governor's Visit to Grafton

I have a lot to catch up on, but I'll start with the news:

• WBOY: New Businesses Open in Grafton
  We get a tiny bit of a mention:

"After the ribbon cutting, Manchin took took a walking tour of downtown Grafton to check out several of the town's new businesses.

He stopped by the Grafton 123 Coffee Shop, which opened a couple months ago, and a new Cajun restaurant that will open next week.

Manchin says he is encouraged by the investment he sees in communities like Grafton."

For the record: We've been open for more than 9 months now. :)

You can click to watch the video at that link, too.

• The Times West Virginian (Fairmont): Governor Finds Plenty to Like During Grafton Visit

His visit made the front page of the paper. Click here for a link to the picture.

• We made the front page of the Dominion Post (Morgantown), too, but there is no open link because everything is viewed by subscription to their site.

WOW!

What a week!
It's way past my bedtime, so this has to be short (I promise a longer post in the next couple of days):

THANK YOU!
I am very thankful for all the wonderful folks who have made this an amazing week!

The Governor is Visiting Tomorrow

Word has it that the Governor will stop by tomorrow around 12:30.

I need to do something about my camera....

Stairs

Here's a shot of the stairs (PC's camera; mine's still not working) during construction.
They don't go anywhere yet:


But thanks to these guys, Charlie and his son Chuck (Charlie's wife keeps a blog here), they go all they way up:


The stairs are sure a lot easier to go up and down than the ladder.

Rainbow

Expansion - Construction Progress

There is progress, but you can't see it here because my camera quit working.
A few highlights:

• Stairs! Yay! Thanks to Carpenters Charlie and Chuck we have stairs in the new addition! We've gotten so used to going up and down the ladder, it's going to take a few days to remember to use them.
• Tile in the bathrooms. No walls or anything else, but the tile is laid and the grout will finish it off by Monday.
• Windows. The windows are now installed in the first floor, too.

So, yes, definite progress!

Now that we're so close to having the first floor usable, there's some progress on getting some good music on the event schedule, too, so keep checking back....

Back to Normal Hours

Yesterday we got back to normal hours.
We're re-stocked and all machines are in good working order.
It was nice to have a couple of days to accomplish all that needed to be done, but, yes, we missed you, too.
Thanks for a great Memorial Day Week and thank you for letting us know how much you missed us the past couple of days!
:)

Special Memorial Day Week Hours

Yes, you read that correctly: Memorial WEEK.
This is still subject to change, but at this time, the following hours are correct (AND different than normal - so take note!):

Friday May 22
Regular opening at 6:15am
Regular closing is at 9:00pm, but because of the events on Main Street, we will remain open until we are no longer busy.

Saturday May 23
Regular opening at 7:15am
Regular closing is at 9:00pm, but because of the event on Main Street, we will remain open until we are no longer busy.

Sunday May 24
We are normally closed on Sunday, but there are events on Main Street so we will be open from 10:15am - 5:00pm

Monday May 25
Regular opening at 6:15am
Closing at 1:00pm
We will offer bottle drinks and a limited selection of quick-grab eats outside.
Come on inside for your regular coffee, smoothies, and other regular goodies!

Tuesday May 26
and
Wednesday May 27
We will be CLOSED.
Regulars, please take note!
We will be closed for inventory, restocking, and several items of maintanence that cannot be performed during normal business hours (Our espresso machine will be undergoing its regularly scheduled preventative maintanence).

Thursday May 28
We will resume our regular hours.

Memorial City - Schedule of Events for Memorial Day Weekend 2009

The Memorial Day weekend schedule is posted over at the Taylor County Blog Project.

Here's the link:
http://www.taylorcountywestvirginia.com/2009/05/memorial-day-weekend-2009-grafton-wv.html

Adding On: Progress Pics

Ridgepole construction is almost complete in this picture:



Here's the "topping off" flag:





'Topping off' is explained well in this article:
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/news/stories/topoff/
“Topping off” a building is an old tradition among construction workers. When the topmost structural element of a multi-story building is in place, workers signify the occasion by placing a small evergreen tree or flag on top. The new ARC building has both. Often, construction workers sign the last steel beam before it is hoisted into place.
"According to some traditions, the tree symbolize that construction so far has occurred without injury or death to the workers, while others say it provides good luck to the future inhabitants.
"Scott L. Melnick wrote in the December, 2000, issue of Modern Steel Construction that the origin of the practice is uncertain but likely traces back thousands of years to either Scandinavians or Germans, who often built with the plentiful evergreen trees scattered throughout northern Europe. Some legends, Melnick said, even date the practice back to early Romans. "

I've seen PC 'top off' quite a few buildings. He's used both evergreens and flags. It's almost Memorial Day in the Memorial City, so the flag seems appropriate.

The roof rafters begin (yep, the flag is still there, just hard to see):

Colerider Descendents

Most of these old building on Main Street are known by name, at least to Grafton natives. The names are usually derived from the original owner/builder. Sometimes an occupant was significant enough to override the original name (the JCPenney Building, for example), but generally the original name sticks.

The Grafton 123 is in the Colerider Building.

A month or so ago I got an email from Henry Colerider's Great-granddaughter!

Here's the email (the link below works, too, for more information on Henry and his extended family):

"Dear M.K.,
I am Henry Colerider's Great Granddaughter. I was googling his name and found out about your Coffee Shop. I was very happy to learn that Henry's building is still standing and being used in such wonderful fashion in Grafton. I am very curious about the previous tenants of the building... bakery, Insurance Agency, and dentist.
That is so strange... my GG Grandfather moved from Grafton to Fayetteville, NC and his office building in Fayetteville housed a bakery downstairs and a dentist's office upstairs. It is so strange that in both cities he would have buildings and the same kind of businesses used his buildings. The Fayetteville information is from my mother, who knows this to be true because she and her sisters inherited the Fayetteville building from my Grandmother. A dentist was renting that building when the sisters sold it.
It was interesting to learn that you are a writer. I am too. My name appears in about 130 text books. I'm a retired middle school science teacher, and until recently, I published science texts for Glencoe McGraw Hill. I've tried publishing children's books, with no success.
If you'd like to see pictures of Henry and learn about the man, you can go to my website:
<http://www.susanleachsnyder.com/Genealogy/Generation5HenryColerider.html>
May I have permission to use your pictures of the coffee shop on my website? I'd love to include them.
Sincerely,
Susan Leach Snyder"

Adding On: Progress Pics

Adding On: Progress Pics

First wall on the second floor:


South wall, second floor:


The sign doesn't look nearly so high now:

I love this view, looking up the Tygart River Valley:

Adding On: Progress Pics

Second floor rafters:

Looking up:

Stairs:

Adding On: Progress Pics