Corner cafes' are the spots only the locals know that offer everything from coffee to catfish, but always a sense of community.
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Our fourth and final spot in the Corner Cafes series is down in Laurens County -- Corner Cafe & Grocery!
This week’s corner café has helped breathe new life into an otherwise sleepy town.
“[Our] population is between 600 – maybe 700. There is not a lot in Cadwell for people to have as far as eating. You have to go to Dublin, or to the interstate, which are both 13 miles away,” said Mayor Larry Upshaw.
Owner Bill Coombs says his café gets a lot of foot traffic.
“Well we put a little store here on the corner in Cadwell, my hometown, and there's a lot of potential here for taking care of a community. A lot of traffic comes by,” he said.
They’ve got everything from green beans like your mama used to make, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
“Me and my sister, we cook. We come in early [and] our goal is to give people the bread of life as well as a good, hot meal to go along with it,” said Coombs.
When Hurricane Michael hit Laurens County, a lot of volunteers from around the state came to the area to help rebuild.
“We had a lot of limbs to pick up, a lot of guys got up Friday morning with chainsaws,” said Upshaw.
Coombs made sure they all had a hot meal.
“We had an opportunity to partner with Georgia Power and EMC and serve them some great food,” said Coombs.
Customer Joyce Burney witnessed Coombs’ kindness firsthand.
“I came by here and he had two big grills out there just going with chicken and I thought they were having lunch, but he said no, they were serving meals to the power people. That was all his expense, out of his pocket,” he said Burney.
“That's what it's all about -- family and friends. We believe that if we serve good food and have good friends, that'll lead to good times and we'll be successful,” said Coombs.
The Corner Café & Grocery is now opening back up after some big renovations. They serve breakfast and lunch on weekdays and stay open for dinner on Thursday and Friday.