ROCKINGHAM — The Hive, formerly located on Mill Road, has moved into a section of the old Winn-Dixie building between Rockingham Road and East Broad Avenue, and now its front lobby has a place for coffee lovers to buzz like bees — Nectar Coffee Shop.
Rebecca Sparks, the 29-year-old owner and barista of Nectar, said she’s been drinking coffee since she was “probably a little too young.”
“By 8, I was a full-blown iced black coffee drinker,” Sparks said. “I grew up with a generation that grew up with ‘Friends’ on the TV all the time so it was not so much wanting to provide coffee to the community as it was to create that central atmosphere where everybody could come and just hang out.”
The self-taught brewer offers a full range of gourmet flavor concoctions, including the coveted pumpkin spice flavor hot, on ice or even as a Frappuccino-style frozen beverage. Sparks knows how to make them all and Nectar’s menu has as much variety as people expect from large coffee chains.
“I moved out of Richmond County briefly,” she said. “They had a Starbucks where we lived and I thought, ‘This is the first time I’ve had something like this that didn’t come from a convenience store.’ And I decided to learn how to do it myself. I bought a machine and started learning.”
It was cold and rainy Monday afternoon, and Sparks said despite what is admittedly great coffee weather, business was slow.
“I’ve had about 16 sales today,” she said. “But for some reason, Mondays are always slow. A high sales day for me would be 75 to 80 transactions.”
Sarah Ferguson, owner of The Hive, offered to rent the space to Sparks after the two decided their businesses were complementary.
“The rent price is very, very fair here,” Sparks said. “I graduated from Richmond Community College last spring and I couldn’t find a job anywhere. So I got in touch with Sarah doing co-op through RCC and she said, ‘Come on over.’”
Ferguson, who mans the front desk out in front of The Hive, said the front lobby from end to end, now decorated with cozy cushioned chairs and sofas, tables and chairs, is available for customers of Nectar and The Hive.
“We’re pretty excited for it (Nectar) to be here,” Ferguson said. “It’s nice to have this for people who come to Hive activities and for anyone who wants to come in.”
Sparks said she and Ferguson did all the decorating together. And Rick Sparks, Rebecca Sparks’s husband, runs supplies for the coffee shop.
“He just supports me,” she said. “That’s his job.”
“Yeah,” Rick Sparks said. “I pretty much just bring her what she needs. If she needs something, I’ll go pick it up.”
Gretchen Grooms, a teacher at Richmond Early College High School, told Ferguson she’d like to bring her class in for a coffee and poetry or literature hour at some point in the future.
“We’ve done something like that at school,” Grooms said. “But it’s not the same as being in a real coffeehouse atmosphere. So we’re in the planning stages of doing an off-campus poetry coffee.”
Nancy Snead, a retired purchasing officer for Richmond County Schools, stepped in out of the rain to visit Nectar for the very first time Monday.
“I saw it on Facebook,” she said. “My sister-in-law and I like to visit coffee shops and we came by one Friday, but it was closed. I’m going to be bringing her here.”
Nectar opened for business on Oct. 12 adorned in autumnal decor, and both Ferguson and Sparks said there will be no mistaking that it’s Christmas at this coffee shop — a sharp detour from Starbucks’ controversial decision to serve its drinks in plain red cups this holiday season rather than the decorative holiday-inspired cups it has used in the past.
“I don’t know what we’ll be doing as far as the cups go,” Sparks said. “But there’s no way people won’t know it’s Christmas in here.”
Ferguson agreed.
“We’ll have Christmas trees and lights, wreaths, the works,” she said. “We love to celebrate Christmas here.”
In addition to coffee, Nectar offers soft drinks and bottles of water, chips and muffins, and occasional fresh biscotti and cake pops baked by Kool Kakes — a local bakery.
“Right now anything and everything pumpkin pie-flavored is 15 percent off,” Sparks said. “That will be going on until we run out of that flavor. If you want a good cup of coffee and a place to hang out in some great atmosphere, this is the place to get some downtime.”
Nectar is open weekdays from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. until noon at 1210 Rockingham Road, Suite E.
For more information and a peek at the menu, visit the shop’s Facebook page by searching for Nectar Coffee Shop.
Reach reporter Melonie McLaurin at 910-817-2673 and follow her on Twitter @melonieflomer.