Santa Claus is coming to Crozet. The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department’s Annual Christmas Parade is approacing very quickly and we are all very excited!! The Parade will run from Wayland Drive, Crozet Avenue and end at Crozet Park where Santa will greet children of all ages. We will sell hotdogs, chips and bottled water! No invitation needed to participate in the parade. Line up will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11th on Wayland Drive and the parade will start at 3:00 p.m.! Hope to see everyone there!
I stopped into Trailside Coffee this morning and was greeted with smiles and a surprise: they now are picking up Bodo’s Bagels in Charlottesville and bringing them to Crozet … hopefully every morning.
As a part of the October activities for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), Marcia McGee, owner of Trailside Coffee, is leading the first Virginia-based “Pink Tulip Project Garden” located in Old Trail Village, Crozet, Virginia. Originally started in Maine, the Pink Tulip Project raises funds for breast cancer research through the creation of pink tulip gardens and the purchase of pink tulip bulbs. (www.PinkTulipProject.org)
Pink Day, October 17th, will allow community members from across the Commonwealth to order tulip bulbs for the Project Gardens in Old Trail Village. These gardens, planted in public view for everyone’s enjoyment, are a symbol of hope for those affected by cancer in our community. The concept, created by cancer survivor Robin Whitten, has raised over $120,000 for cancer research since its inception in 2006. Once ordered, the tulips will be delivered for Planting Day in mid-November.
Marcia McGee, whose mother passed away from cancer in 2008, found the Pink Tulip Project in a magazine. “When I read about the project, I was excited to participate and signed-up immediately. 100% of the profit goes directly to cancer research, and that’s really important to me. After talking about it with my employees, some of whom are seniors at Western Albemarle High School, they wanted to get involved, too. This Saturday’s ‘Pink Day’ is our kick-off for the effort to reach our goal of $2,000 for research.” Sold for $2 per bulb, all of which is donated, the Old Trail goal will provide an acre of tulips for the four planting locations.
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“Pink Day” will feature the sale of pink tulip bulbs at each business in the Old Trail Village Center (OTVC). Additionally, Trailside Coffee will offer pink cupcakes and pink lemonade. The bulbs will be on-sale through November 1st; after that date, the bulbs will be ordered and Planting Day will be on Saturday, November 7th (rain date on Sunday, November 8th).
For more information, contact Marcia McGee, Trailside Coffee, [email protected], 434-205-4253.
Jim Duncan: It’s a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in Crozet Virginia. I’m watching the cars drive by and all the necks are craning in anticipation of Trailside Coffee opening up. I’m sitting here with Marcia McGee, owner operator of Trailside Coffee. Hey Marcia!
Marcia McGee: Hi. Thanks for coming out.
Jim Duncan: Tell us why you started it.
Marcia McGee: Why I started it was because at the time there were no coffee shops out here and I live and grew up out here and wanted coffee. That’s why I started to deliver coffee to Crozet! It’s just taken me a little bit longer than anticipated.
Jim Duncan: What do you expect the shop to look like? What do you hope the vibe is of the shop and what are your goals?
Marcia McGee: The vibe of the shop, Trailside Coffee, I like hiking and I want to take this and bring it inside or make it a seamless transition. I want it to be very comfortable. There is going to be a fireplace and wood and natural colors and just a place for people to hang out and talk and drink coffee, tea, smoothies, whatever brings them here just to hang out.
Jim Duncan: Are you going to have a full menu?
Marcia McGee: I say that yes we are. We’ll have Pannini’s made to order bring it out to your table kind of deal, but we’ll have sandwiches and different stuff made up for you and can heat them up – Pannini’s and soups and salads and stuff like that, muffins, and croissants and bakery items and cookies.
Jim Duncan: Are you excited?
Marcia McGee: Yes! Very excited! I’m a little reserved because I’ve been excited for so long. We’re close, we’re very close. It’s just that we’ve been close for a long time.
Jim Duncan: What are you looking forward to the most?
Marcia McGee: To coming to work everyday. It’s kind of what I want to do. It’s a social environment hopefully delivering people a cup of liquid sunshine everyday, getting to talk to them, and live, work and play all in one space. You know? I get to bike to work. I get to work out right down there. I get to see my friends and family and have it all happen in one spot.
Jim Duncan: I’m still hanging on that liquid sunshine.
Marcia McGee: [laughs]
Jim Duncan: How are you going to achieve that? Tell us about the process of the coffee and what you’ve learned about how to make a good cup of coffee.
Marcia McGee: Well you know it starts with the beans. Some of the beans we’re bringing in are of the highest quality so that process is a painstaking one that they all go through and then it’s delivered to us. It’s going to be about training people. I achieved my level one Barista certification; there are three. Colleen is ready to take the test and hopefully all of our Barista’s will be certified, if not a large percentage of them. Training will be a major focus and then it’s just teaching people about coffee and finding out what they like, having cuppings, showing the different types of coffee’s and everything that it has to offer. We’re going to broaden everything they thought the knew about coffee and just blow them away.
Jim Duncan: What’s the feedback from people then as you talk to them about Trailside Coffee opening up, besides the anticipation and the excitement, what are they looking forward to?
Marcia McGee: I think they’re looking for a community place. I think they’re looking forward to learning about coffee. That’s actually one of the things that’s been surprising is teaching people or just talking about that. People didn’t know how many hand-picked beans are in one cup of coffee or their latte’. I’ve had a major response to that. I already have people who want to come to the monthly cuppings. They’re just looking forward to having a place close. Right now they have to drive into town. They want to sit here because a lot of people live around here. I’m kind of blessed because we’re in Old Trail neighborhood. I think they want to walk and get the newspaper and enjoy a cup of coffee in the mornings and not have to drive somewhere else to achieve that.
Jim Duncan: I can’t imagine why anyone would want to sit out here on this patio!
Marcia McGee: [laughs] Yeah, and have a nice beverage.
Jim Duncan: It’s just so hideous out here with all these mountains and greenery.
Marcia McGee: It is, yeah!
Jim Duncan: It’s just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
Marcia McGee: Soon we’ll have ice cream, ice coffee, hot coffee, smoothies, tea, homemade lemonades and gingerales and all sorts of stuff.
Jim Duncan: Are you going to have alcohol or music?
Marcia McGee: Music, yes, especially we’re going to do things outside. We have the fields to kind of cross around. So definitely music. I’m set up for it. Wine. I have a place for wine and beer. The thought was to do that and I still may, but I’m kind of just taking it one step at a time right now.
Jim Duncan: Do you want to actually open first?
Marcia McGee: Yes. I want to open first and be good at a couple things and be really good at a couple things rather than just OK at a lot of different things, so that is something that I’m prepared to add onto the menu, right now we’re not. But now we have with the wine bar coming behind us I’m not sure that we’ll need to.
Jim Duncan: Right.
Marcia McGee: Again, it’s kind of focused on a few things. I didn’t think there was going to be anyone serving wine or beer here before so that’s why I was prepared and I am prepared. I have the space to do it so we’ll see. We’ll see.
Jim Duncan: Cool. Anything else you want to add to the future customers of Trailside Coffee?
Marcia McGee: Just come out, give us a try, come hang out, experience the place and let us know. We want to be the community coffee shop, so I don’t have a model of something we’ve been before. We’re certainly not a franchise, so all I can say is let us know what you think and what you want and honest feedback so we can be that. That would be it.
Jim Duncan: Cool. Marcia thanks so much for your time.
