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Business & Tech

Alcove Coffee Brings New Life To Old Starbucks

Former Tucker coffee shop already has a steady stream of regulars at its new Lake Lucerne location.

On a recent Saturday afternoon at Alcove Coffee on Highway 78, the coming and going is steady. Shane Abbott is working her third summer with Alcove, making macchiatos, while folks with computers sit on the long red couches reading and sending emails.

With a grand opening slated for Friday, June 10 at 10 a.m., Cherie Johnson, Alcove’s owner, is happy to be in her beautiful new location and says that she’s always loved the Lake Lucerne/Lilburn area.

“I used to visit this location when it was a Starbucks,” Johnson says. “So, when it was time for me to move, I looked at this Lake Lucerne location and knew I had to be here.”

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“I never dreamt that while I was visiting and loving looking at the lake, that one day, it would be mine!” she says.

With two former Alcove Coffee locations under her belt, she knows she’s made the right move to Lilburn.

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This spot is already a hangout for some folks. Sometimes there are four people polka dotting the tables and chairs…sometimes, it’s a full house. Newspapers salt and pepper the tabletops – The New York Times and The Gwinnett Daily Post, among others.

A man sits outside on the deck, looking out at Lake Lucerne, sipping coffee. He seems at peace.

Another man on his cell phone is talking about being here at Alcove Coffee on Highway 78. He says it used to be a Starbucks and that he thinks his phone conversation partner should meet him here. As they continue to converse, more folks come in and go out. A lady with a lot of shopping bags dashes in and gets  something to go. She seems to have trouble balancing her bags with her cup of coffee. The man who is outside opens the door and holds it for her.

Such is a piece of what goes on at Alcove Coffee.

It’s busy here – but it’s busy without there being a line, or anyone having to wait for the coffees or teas they’ve ordered. In fact, it’s just what you’d hope a new place will have: enough customers and cars in the parking lot of a place you don’t know well to get you to stop by and try whatever it is they are selling.

Johnson says that even her customers from her Tucker locations have come out to see her Lilburn. “It’s been emotional and rewarding all at once,” she says. She’s also enjoying meeting the area residents who are becoming her “new” regulars.

Denise Moon has already been here once today. Earlier, she and her husband came over for coffee. Moon lives on Lake Lucerne and says she is happy that Alcove is here. She’s here now with her friend Gloridel Hildago. They’ve just come in from taking a canoe over for some tea. 

“In the morning it’s coffee, and in the afternoon I have tea," she says.

She and Hildago consider the cream puffs in the pastry case, but decide against them in the end. They settle in at a table with a view to the lake. They lean in like girlfriends do and talk.

Brian Burchik is a 26-year-old who lives in Snellville. His parents also live on the lake, but he says coming here is better now than when it was a Starbucks.

“This is more artsy, now,” Burchik says. “The feel is completely different and a lot more comfortable.” He’s all set up with his laptop at a table near the door and gets his coffee, sipping with pleasure.

Johnson says that she’s looking forward to becoming more a part of the community. She’s even coming up with a “Lake Lucerne Blend” of coffee that she hopes to debut in the fall. Since the age of 19, owning a coffee shop is what she’s wanted to do with her life. “I love meeting new people,” she says. “Plus, I love coffee!”

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