Corner Spot to host grand opening Saturday
Grand opening for The Corner Spot in Norris will be held this Saturday, Jan. 31. The business is in the Norris Town Center next to the former Archer’s market. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Calling itself “an artisan market, grab and go food spot, coffee maker, and gathering place located in the heart of Norris,” The Corner Spot is in the former location of the Sweet Café, in the same building as the closed Archer’s market.
Archer’s, which was on the other side of the building at 15 W. Norris Road, remains closed and no new tenant has yet been announced for that space.
Beth Hutchison of Clinton, who created The Corner Spot, moved her Vintage Floral Designs business into the back room of the space, and has opened the front as a public area.
Besides the coffee and food, the front area holds the artisan market, and is available for use as a workshop for artists, she said. Some flowers will be available for sale there, as well.
In addition, local baker Rachel Barnes sells her products in The Corner Spot, and these will be available during Saturday’s grand opening.
Baked goods available from Barnes will include classic sourdough bread, Jalapeño cheddar sourdough, “simple sandwich bread,” sourdough English muffins, New York-style bagels, classic lemon scones, muffins “apple, cinnamon and pumpkin), and French macarons (Thin Mint flavor).
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 had been vacant since.
Archer’s, a Norris staple for more than four decades, closed without notice in 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, had been the only tenant in the center for the past two years, other than the Norris Post Office.
A real estate agent listed the Archer’s and Sweet Café properties for rent last April, with the posted rent for the café space at $1,650 a month, and Archer’s at $3,300.
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 said in November that she would move that business, which has eight employees, into the former Sweet Café space — but mostly out of sight in the rear of the building.
In the front, the bar along the side next to the post office remains in place, and there are some tables and chairs, as well.
“We want it to be a place where people can come in and sit,” Hutchison said earlier, adding: “We’re giving the space a total refresh.”
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 school year.
“I love small towns, and particularly Norris,” she said.
The shop has its own awebsite (thecornerspotnorris.com) and social media pages.
Her floral business also has its own website, vintagefloraldesigns.com.
