Florence coffeehouse Aroma Underground set to re-open

The Aroma Underground building at 700 Pamplico Highway has long been absent the sweet, thick scent of roasted coffee beans, but Florence residents Carol Anderson and Marty Stephens aim to change that.

The two are at the head of the revitalization and re-opening of Aroma Underground. The coffee shop will open Jan. 21 and have a grand opening Feb. 7.

Stephens, who now owns Aroma, said the idea came, conveniently enough, from coffee.

“The way this really all got started was these guys, Cashua Coffee, they locally roast coffee here and they said, ‘We need an outlet for our coffee’ and I said, ‘Well, if (Aroma Underground) was still open, we’d be ready to go,’” he said. “I got to thinking a bit and I put two and two together and said, ‘Let me make some phone calls,’ and, as it turned out, Aroma Underground was available.”

Aroma Underground, the only independent coffee house in the Florence area, closed last year. It originally was owned and operated by Wes and Sage Andrews and Nate and Susan Tomforde.

“The original owners (had) some lifestyle changes and so (the building) was here. So, we just came in and we’re trying to start it back up,” Anderson said.

Aroma Underground will offer the same menu as before with light food and gourmet coffee with a local touch.

“The chef from Benton’s will prepare cakes and breads for us,” Anderson said.

Yet, there are some changes being made. The wall from the entrance halfway into the coffee shop has been knocked down to provide more space, Anderson said. Other than that, the additions are minor.

“Just adjusting some things, adding a few decorative touches to make it more of our own. (Using) the Cashua Coffee, which is locally roasted here in Florence,” Anderson said.

“I’d like for this to be a place where all of (the community) comes together. Our plan is to have music on the weekends. Maybe do a book exchange. Maybe an open mic night. Just pulling in families. Have a father-daughter afternoon,” she said. “I’m hoping it can be a place where you hear about different things happening in the community.”

Of course, they don’t want to change everything.

“It’s hard to change a whole lot on something that already works well. They’ve had everything wonderfully in place,” Anderson said.

The re-opening is drawing friends and former employees of Aroma Underground back to the coffee shop, too.

One of them, Sarah Bardi, was a former employee of the Celebration Boulevard location. She is returning for the re-opening.

“When Marty told me, ‘Hey, I want to open this again,’ I thought, ‘This might be fun,’” she said. “There’s something really pure about this place. It’s not a franchise. It’s not a big corporation. It’s almost, like, home.”

When asked if they’ll consider re-opening the Celebration Boulevard location, Anderson smiled.

“Who knows? We’ll just take one at a time and see what happens,” she said. “Everybody that starts a business always thinks about expanding. We’re just gonna think about being here first, getting this down solid before we think about anything else.”

Don’t miss acoustic trio RSK Trio performing Jan. 23-24 at Aroma Underground.

Aroma Underground hours of operation are 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 6:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

IF YOU’RE GOING:

WHAT: Aroma Underground re-opening

WHEN: 6:30 a.m. Jan. 21

WHERE: 700 Pamplico Highway, Florence

ADMISSION: Free

INFO: Call (843) 665-4245.