New businesses to open in Town Center

For those jittery for a cup of Joe or feeling hungry for something a little different, there will soon be two new coffee shops and an upscale, Mexican-inspired restaurant to choose from in the Evans Town Center.

George Kanaras, the owner of Serendipity on Washington Road, won the contract to operate the Footnotes Cafe coffee shop in the new Columbia County Library and Performing Arts Center.

The shop's opening will coincide with the library's March 27 opening, Kanaras said.

"A lot of our regular customers know we're going to be associated with the library and are looking forward to when they can go to the library with the kids and mom can come and get a latte and read a book," he said.

The new location will offer most of the menu items of Serendipity, including fresh deli sandwiches, pastries, sundaes and fine coffees, Kanaras said.

The Footnotes Cafe will be located near the lobby of the library, across from the entrance for the performing arts center.

Under the terms of the contract, Kanaras said, the cafe will be open during the library's hours of operation.

He said the cafe will have its own entrance and might open earlier once the business gets going.

Kanaras said Serendipity's Washington Road location will remain open.

Evans will soon be getting its second Starbucks, in the Mullins Crossing shopping center, right across the parking lot from the community's first Starbucks, which is located inside Target.

The new coffee shop, which will feature a drive-through, is slated to open sometime this spring, said Alan Richardson, the southeast regional marketing manager with Starbucks. He did not give the exact date the coffee shop is expected to open.

"We choose to offer Starbucks locations based on what our customers tell us," Richardson said.

"Many times, they have asked us to serve them more conveniently by providing a location in their neighborhood."

The new location will employ about 30 workers, and the Starbucks inside Target will remain open, he said.

Also set to open soon is a new restaurant from the owner of Teresa's Mexican Restaurant.

Teresita's Cuisine is Felipe Mata's first restaurant in Columbia County and 12th restaurant overall, he said.

Mata said he hopes to have the restaurant open March 1.

Mata purchased the former location of The Upper Crust pizzeria on Towne Centre Drive in December, and crews have installed three waterfalls, 20 palm trees and are now reworking the interior with fresh tile, paint and a new bar.

"The dishes (at Teresita's) are going to be more upscale, a lot of steaks and seafood," Mata said.

Daniel Darnell, who will manage the new restaurant, said that although the restaurant is Mexican-inspired, price and quality will be similar to a Carrabba's Italian Grill.

"(Teresita's will be) a truly unique and different experience," Darnell said. "We're trying to do something that no one in the area has. There will be plenty of familiar things (dishes) that people love but new things people can branch out that they've never had before."

Elsewhere in Columbia County, the Just Fresh Bakery has recently applied for an alcohol license for a location at the corner of Furys Ferry Road and The Pass.