Corner Spot to open in former Sweet Café
The Corner Spot, a cafe and florist shop, will open in this space, formerly the Sweet Cafe, in the Norris Town Center on Dec. 6, its owner says. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Beth Hutchison of Clinton said she plans to move her Vintage Floral Designs business into the back of the space, and will use the front, public area as a “gathering place” offering coffee and other beverages, and local baked goods/pastries.
The café area will also include an “artisan retail shop,” and will be available for use as a workshop for artists, she said. Some flowers will be available for sale there, as well.
The Twisted Sisters bakery was in the same space for a few weeks in 2022, having taken over the site from the Sweet Café, which shut down in April 2022. The space has been vacant since.
Archer’s Market, a Norris staple for more than four decades, abruptly closed without notice in late January 2024, and has been locked up and unoccupied since.
The dental offices of Dr. Dan Startup, at the Archer’s end of the building, is the only tenant in the center now, other than the Norris post office at the opposite end.
A real estate agent listed the Archer’s and Sweet Café properties for rent in April, with the posted rent for the café space at $1,650 a month, and Archer’s at $3,300. No tenant has been announced for the Archer’s space yet.
For several years, Hutchison has been running Vintage Floral Designs from a workshop behind her home in Clinton, providing flowers for special events, including weddings, she said.
She will move that business, which now has eight employees, into the former Sweet Café space, although that will be mostly out of sight in the rear of the building, she said.
In the front, the bar along the side next to the post office will remain in place, and there will be some tables and chairs, as well.
“We want it to be a place where people can come in and site,” Hutchison said.
“We’re still working out the days and hours we plan to be open, but we will have a soft opening on Dec. 6,” she said.
“We’re giving the space a total refresh, with new flooring, and we’re working on getting new awnings out front. We’re really excited, and working to get it all together.”
Hutchison is a native of the Chicago area who moved to Knoxville in 2000 to attend the University of Tennessee.
She said her twin daughters just started attending Norris Middle School this year.
“I love small towns, and particularly Norris,” she said.
The shop will have its own website (thecornerspotnorris.com) and social media pages, Hutchison said.
Her floral business already has its own website, vintagefloraldesigns.com.