Old Fort has new place to gather, sip coffee and more

By Mike Conley
Published: July 28, 2010

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Old Fort has a new community center complete with a first-class coffee shop, a stage for live music and lots of games and crafts for folks of different backgrounds.

The Old Fort Kiwanis Community Center and Ja-Vin Coffee Shop will hold its grand opening Friday evening. It is located in both floors of the Old Fort Kiwanis building at 43 S. Catawba Ave., across from the Town Hall.

Dennis Edgar, who’s a member of the Kiwanis Club, and his partner, Deborah Monley, are both heading up the new community center and coffee shop. They previously operated the Ja-Vin Coffee Shop in Black Mountain and approached the Old Fort Kiwanis Club with the idea of having a similar operation in the club’s building.

The Ja-Vin Coffee Shop, located on the first floor, will serve up all kinds of coffees, smoothies, espresso, organic hot tea, ice cream and milkshakes.

“Our smoothies are made from fresh-cut fruits and juices,” said Monley. “Everything we have as far as drinks are made from scratch.”

The first floor has games and crafts for kids and grownups alike. Wireless Internet is available so folks can look up stuff online. There are also lots of interesting antiques and works of art to check out.

“We’re also going to be bringing in jewelry making and soap making,” said Monley.

Another coffee shop will soon operate on the second floor. It also has a stage for live music and an area that is set aside for babies and toddlers.

The new community center and coffee house will celebrate its grand opening with a free concert Friday evening. But the events will kick off with a pre-concert dinner at 6 p.m. By making a $10 donation, you can enjoy a meet-and-greet dinner with the musicians lined up for Friday’s concert.

“You can come early and eat and mingle with the artists,” said Monley.

The concert will start at 7 p.m. It will feature singer/songwriter Lyndsay Wojcik, the winner of the Gibson Songwriter’s Competition in Nashville, Tenn. She also took first place in the songwriter’s contest held by Knoxville, Tenn. Station WDVX. The special guest band for Friday’s event will be Solito. The members of Solito will perform their special brand of music with influences by Frank Zappa, Patti Smith, Rush and Thelonius Monk, according to a Web site.

Compact discs will be on sale. Money made from a silent auction and other activities will benefit the Old Fort Kiwanis Club.

The community center and coffee shop will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, it will be open until 9 p.m. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays but that can change.

“We are trying to schedule music events every other Saturday,” said Monley.

The place is closed on Sundays.

For more information, call 1 (828) 335-7222.