Owner Lewis Jewett, center, and manager Max McCarty speak with a customer at the newly opened Madalyn’s Coffee & Tea II.

Melissa Alvarez lights up the Old Public House at its opening Saturday

Newly opened in downtown Cornelius are Madalyn’s Coffee & Tea II and the Old Town Public House. Both opened their doors this weekend. Madalyn’s is at the same location Gabi’s coffee shop was at the entrance to Food Lion. Its owner Lewis Jewett is optimistic about this venture, his second in Cornelius. “Coffee is an addiction that everyone has,” he says, “eighty percent of the world drinks coffee and it recession proof. If you have a good product people come back.”And with more and more reports coming out supporting the heath benefits of coffee, consumption of the black elixir may continue to rise.

The Old Town Public House has been a long time coming. Owner Case Warnemunde announced that the tap room would open last year. But there were delays around financing and permits. At the soft opening Saturday, which coincided with the Tawba Walk street festival, the business was packed.

– Michael Mezquida