After months of renovation and planning, Alexis Burton’s dream of owning her own coffee shop and café became a reality earlier this month in downtown Monroe. ECG worked closely with Monroe’s Downtown Development Director Sadie Krawcyzk to identity the market need and the evaluation of space for a coffee shop in the community.

“We were missing a key component in our downtown – a gathering space and coffee shop,” said Ms. Krawcyzk. “I had the perfect space in downtown for the shop and an eager investor ready to take a shot at opening her first coffee shop. We were just missing the coffee and some coffee shop business expertise. This is where ECG’s Mill Graves came into the picture, he connected us with Jittery Joe’s. Jittery Joe’s not only provides the coffee, they also provided business expertise along the way to opening The Cotton Café. Over the past few weeks, the café has become the perfect spot to work on your laptop, meet friends for lunch and have small business meetings.”

This example of public/private partnership is increased foot traffic and extended stays in Monroe’s downtown. The Cotton Café is a great example of seeing a retail need a community and working together to make it a reality.

Read more about Monroe’s downtown.