From old to new, business booms in Senoia
Written by JENNY ENDERLIN | Photographed by JACKIE KENNEDY
For 40 years, Nancy Roy has run a sprawling antique business just outside of Senoia.
Not long ago, Senoia consisted of little more than a pharmacy, furniture store, hardware store and Crook’s Marketplace. Now, Senoia boasts dozens of distinctive shops and restaurants that have become prized film locations. And in the last three decades, Senoia's population has quintupled.
The town once known as a mere highway intersection has maintained its historic ambiance despite its growth and is primarily recognized for its vibrant downtown. What changed Senoia? The tenacious spirit of people like Nancy Roy and Brent and April Anderson.
NANCY ROY
In 1974, Nancy Roy and her husband Bill decided to exchange apartment life in College Park for a rural environment. As they were driving around Senoia, they saw a “for sale” sign in front of a house. It was love at first sight.
Built in 1905, the house was in desperate need of repair. The Roys only knew the house’s age because the daughter of its first owner remembered moving to the newly built house when she was 5 years old; she recalled riding there in a wagon, playing the family piano along the way.
The Roys learned that an old structure on their new property once served as the original owner's carriage house where the family’s wagon and carriages were kept.
The Roys got busy restoring the old house on Highway 16 and opened it in 1982 as Carriage House Antiques, one of Senoia’s first non-utilitarian shops, which sells everything from vintage pieces to holiday décor to hostess gifts. Celebrating 40 years in business this year, Carriage House Antiques is one of Senoia's oldest businesses in operation.
As if running her shop was not enough to keep her busy, Nancy served as director of the McIntosh Arts and Crafts Country Fair for the first five years of its existence. Through the years, she also has served as a member of Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce and the Coweta Courthouse Restoration Committee. She is a charter member of both the Coweta County Visitor and Business Bureau, which opened in 1993, and Senoia’s Historical Society, founded in 1977.
Never afraid to engage politically, Nancy has successfully advocated for humane methods of treating shelter animals in Coweta. She's also considered the reason Coweta has a senior citizen center. When her aging parents moved to the area, she repeatedly brought up to county commissioners the need for a place for seniors to gather.
“I kept harping on it until they built the center,” says Nancy.
When East Coweta Senior Center finally opened, former County Commissioner Mutt Hunter told her: “Okay, you got your building. Now get your volunteers to run it.”
For years, Nancy organized potlucks and scheduled volunteers until employees eventually were hired.
One of Senoia’s greatest cheerleaders, Nancy Roy has faced her share of struggles in life – but never allowed them to defeat her. In 2013, she lost her husband, and last year, she completed 10 years of chemo medication during a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
“Whatever you face in life, face it with positivity and don’t give up,” she advises.
APRIL ANDERSON
April Anderson has served as the vice president of Senoia’s Downtown Development Authority for the past four years, is the founding president of local nonprofit Backpack Buddies, raised four children, always seems to be in the middle of a renovation project, and maintains her and husband Brent’s restaurant while he works full time at Senoia Bicycle.
As if to explain how they manage it all, she says, “My husband is my best friend and partner in crime, and we work really well together.”
In 2008, the Andersons moved to the area for Brent to pastor Senoia Vineyard Church. Throughout their seven years there, April felt that her service should extend beyond the four walls of the church, so she embarked on a ministry to feed Coweta's children in need. Backpack Buddies moved into the schools in 2011, initially feeding three dozen children. Today, the program is co-run by Lori Burnette whom Anderson describes as a “rockstar.” The nonprofit supplies food to hungry children in every school in the county, serving more than 1,100 children each week. (To donate, visit backpackbuddiesga.org.)
During that phase of their lives, April and Brent frequently spent time at Senoia Coffee and told the previous owners to let them know if they ever wanted to sell.
“I must have caught them on a bad day,” muses April, “because one day the owner asked, ‘Were you serious about that offer?’”
“Yes, I was,” April replied. She and Brent became the official owners of Senoia Coffee and Cafe in 2015. It wasn’t about the coffee or the food, though, according to April.
“We were just passionate about people,” she says.
Today, their coffee shop is located at 30 Main Street, across the road from its original location. Senoia Coffee is one of four vendors housed at the Andersons’ brand new business: Mess Hall on Main. The others include Rock Salt Milk Bar, which serves ice cream; The Boardroom, which supplies wine, charcuterie and catering; and a new hibachi and sushi restaurant is set to open this summer.
Along with providing great local foods, the micro food hall hosts a monthly Wisdom and Wine night for women and Purpose and Pints night for men, as well as family game nights, trivia nights, and “anything that brings the community together,” according to April.
“I feel like we’ve done more ministry inside this coffee shop than we’ve done the whole time we pastored a church,” she says. “People are struggling all around. I want to leave a legacy of hope.” NCM
