ROCKINGHAM — Speckled Paw Coffee will open its Richmond County location on Friday.
The new shop — one of three Speckled Paws owned by Kyle and Myra Poplin — is located in IncSpace, a business incubator in downtown Rockingham at 115 South Lawrence St.
The original Speckled Paw Coffee opened in March 2018 in Mount Gilead and the second shop opened at REV Uptown in Wadesboro in June 2019. REV Uptown is also a business incubator.
The Poplins pride themselves on offering not just custom coffee and delicious treats, but also a community gathering place where people can relax, share and learn.
Jah and John Marsh will manage “The Paw Rock.”
“We are honestly overjoyed to be a part of opening a third Speckled Paw Coffee location,” said John Marsh. “Our journey in the Mount Gilead and Wadesboro locations has been incredible. We’ve been able to love on different people, and we’re excited to bring that same love and Speckled Paw culture to Rockingham.”
Jah Marsh says they’ve got a specific vision for the shop.
“The Speckled Paw has always been a comfortable place for us to escape and connect with new people through a common love of coffee,” she said. “Even those who don’t drink coffee have been able to enjoy other drinks, such as the smoothies, religiously. We’ve been able to find out about many events in the area and support other parts of the community.
“We hope The Paw Rock will set the same comfortable vibe where you can smile, be inspired, enjoy great coffee, refreshing beverages and connect to the community.”
The Poplins feel lucky they found IncSpace, because of its location within eyesight of Discovery Place Kids–Rockingham and Richmond Community College’s Leon Levine School of Business and Information Technology, and because of downtown Rockingham’s amazing possibilities. “The infrastructure’s in place for downtown Rockingham to start rocking,” Myra Poplin said. “Our landlords, Kenny and Charlie Melvin, are tapping into that potential with IncSpace, and we can’t wait to collaborate with other businesses in town to create a special gathering place.”
“Downtown Rockingham has been missing a coffee shop for some time now and we are excited to be part of making this new addition to the downtown community,” said Charlie Melvin co-owner of IncSpace and co-publisher of The Richmond Observer.
The Marshes’ definition of success involves much more than the business’ bottom line.
“We’ll know we’re successful,” Jah Marsh says, “when our community’s response to our coffee shop is ‘I just love being there’ and then that thought is matched with an action. We hope for people to enjoy our shop and share it with others, so that we become the place you must visit when you come to Rockingham.”
For the first week or so, The Paw Rock will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Once the shop develops a rhythm, John Marsh says, the hours will be adjusted accordingly. And stay tuned for a variety of after-hours special events as part of the grand opening festivities.
IncSpace is also home to Richmond County Partnership for Children, Sunset Slush and The Richmond Observer.
IncSpace is owned by the Melvin family which, with the Jenkins family, also owns The Richmond Observer. Kenny and Charlie Melvin serve as co-publishers of the publication.
