Erin Edgemon: The De Feos getting back into The Grind on The Murfreesboro Post

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Erin Edgemon: The De Feos getting back into The Grind

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By: By ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor

The Grind is back but with a twist.

Tony and Kathy De Feo are reopening the former coffee house at 1513 East Main St., near the intersection with Baird Lane between The Tattoo Parlor and Oriental Market, as a retail store and live music venue. Several years ago, the De Feos operated the popular coffee house on Memorial Boulevard next door to O’Charleys restaurant.

The Grind Coffee, Tea and Hookah Emporium will sell packaged coffee, loose-leaf tea, hookahs, and an assortment of other merchandise, much of which was handmade by local artists. The shop will open at 7 p.m. daily and close around 3 a.m.

Five dollars buys you a seat at The Grind. But along with your seat, you will receive bottomless free samples of coffee, tea, soda and plenty of thoughtful conversation.

“It is all about the art of conversation and socialization,” Tony De Feo said.

He wants The Grind to be a place where anyone can feel comfortable coming in to chat about music, art and politics while smoking from a hookah. But it is also a place to hear live music and a late night haven for college students needing a place to finish their homework.

De Feo said Murfreesboro is in need of more places for people of like and unlike minds to meet and talk.

“We are a growing city,” he said. “We are a diverse population center, but we are overrun with this corporate mentality. There is no place for people to commune.”

De Feo said The Grind is the typical place you would see in Greenwich Village in New York City or in the Five Points areas of such cities as Atlanta and Nashville.

The Grind’s grand opening is slated for April 1. Live entertainment will include a fire dancer and fire-eater and the music of No, Really (Hannah Clemens) and the venerable Boo Boo Bunny.

Check out The Grind’s Web site at www.myspace.com/thegrindmurfreesboro.

The De Feos also operate a similar nightspot called The Alley out of Kathy’s Church Street Studio and Gallery at 121 S. Church St., on the Public Square. The gallery provides a space for local artists to showcase their work but in the evening it becomes a hangout for area artists and musicians.

For more information on The Alley, visit www.myspace.com/alleymurfreesboro.
•••
Sadly, the Murfreesboro location of Espresso Joe’s has closed.
The coffee house was located in a quant home that provided a comfortable atmosphere for holding meeting or catching up with friends.

Owner Kim Delduca operated the coffee shop at 1443 Memorial Blvd. next door to the former Jade Dragon Chinese Restaurant for three and a half years.

Delduca said she has no plans to reopen the coffee house in another location. She has operated an Espresso Joe’s at 901 Rock Springs Road in Smyrna for almost five years; that coffee house will remain open.

The Murfreesboro Post has noticed reports of break ins at the coffee shop, but Delduca couldn’t confirm on the record whether these played a part in the closure.

Reportedly, the old home also is haunted. Many former employees have spoken about odd things happening in the building when they were closing up for the night.

Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.

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Member Opinions:

By: Drexter on 3/30/08
Mufreesboro is overrun with these little coffee bistro shops. Clearly they can't sustain themselves. I still miss The Red Rose, but I wasn't surprised it closed

By: justdance on 3/31/08

ohhh.. I love a good ghost story! What's been going on there??

Being new to the Boro', I didn't know the place was supposed to be haunted. I always thought that it was a cute and quaint little place to have coffee though.

By: Admiral on 4/1/08
When I was younger, I would have liked a place like this, especially if it served drinks. As I age and have quit smoking for 8 years, I tend to avoid smoke filled rooms unless there is plenty of ventillation. It's something to think about. As for Tony and Kathy, I wish them success.

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