"Is a Coffee Shop Just a Coffee Shop?"

As a young child listening to parents and grandparents talk about their "good old days", I often thought,"I'll never be that way!" OMG...I have probably never been more wrong!. For the record, "I made a mistake!" It's not that we talk about the "good old days", it's more like we miss certain things from that era. My husband grew up in the City of Norwich. He lived in the Breed building above the Sugar Bowl. Ah yes, a coffee shop! We've talked often about that. Although he was only six when the family moved to Scotland Rd. in Norwich, he remembers awakening to the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. Years before we became the owners of Fred's News, we would talk about those days and how it must of been very comforting to the patrons of the Sugar Bowl, just knowing that a fresh cup of coffee and newspaper would be waiting for them every morning. Ironically, neither one of us ever went there, it was just one of those neatly tucked away memories or just part of an overheard conversation from our parents. We have no idea if the coffee was great, or if it was the company of the early morning crowd that made it unique, perhaps a little bit of both. We remembered listening to friends talk of similar circumstances and each one of these memories made our final decision to purchase Fred's News, a "no-brainer."

Other than babysitting and being "Candy-Striper" volunteer at the Backus Hospital, my first job with a paycheck was at Goldberg's Store in Norwich. Friends and I would walk from Norwich Free Academy everyday to Beverly Tea Room, have some fries or a burger and soda, then head off to work or whatever. It was for our age group, the "thing" to do. Our own hangout. Mr. Valace would yell at us, his son would do the same. Many years later, the son would visit us at Fred's News. We'd talk about those days and how they were so much fun. He DID NOT "feel the fun" at that age. He admitted he felt much the same way my kids did, "growing up in a fishbowl", only now realizing how much he misses it. Memories like that assurred us we had made the right decision in owning Fred's News.

We now live in sunny Florida, a universe away from the days of Fred's News. We, of course, miss our friends. We miss the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and the early morning chatter of everyone who ever came through the door, they were all friends. We are often asked, "Are you ever sorry you sold the place?" Of course not, it wasn't a snap decision, we thought of all the pros and cons. What does cause our sadness? There will be no further memories created within the walls of Fred's News. Stories, however, will live on.