Customers were lined up out the door Saturday, as popular Five Corners business Laura’s Coffee Corner reopened in newpremises on Pacific Avenue, following White Rock’s huge fire nearly a year ago.
“I’m so surprised and so touched,” said Laura Cornale, who, with regular and newly hired staff were rushed off their feet by an influx of loyal customers, some of them bearing flowers, and new patrons who arrived for the coffee shop’s soft opening.
“I really didn’t know what to expect.”
Former MLA Ken Jones and artist Elizabeth Hollick said they were the first to arrive, shortly before Cornale opened shop at 8 a.m.
“There was already a lineup forming when she opened the doors,” Jones said.
Cornale, whose business in the Ocean Ridge building was burned out by the catastrophic fire that hit Five Corners on May 15 lastyear, has reopened in a much larger space – former home of the J & H Food Market at Pacific and Fir.
There’s a nod to history in the newly-renovated store’s decor – a large wall photo shows the market as it looked in the 1970s.And the Soo family, former owners of the market who retired from the business last year and offered the location to Cornale,were also present to wish her well at the opening.
It seemed evident, from the steady stream of customers prepared throughout the weekend, that the coffee shop’s business hasexpanded to fill the space.
Coun. David Chesney, also a former regular customer, said it was a well-deserved outcome for Cornale, who was in the forefrontof organizing help for businesses and residents in the aftermath of the fire.
“I’m not surprised she’s doing so well – Laura’s a business person who knows how to get things done,” he said.