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Francesca Taylor serves a customer a drink with whipped cream on top. 'I make a killer mocha,' says Taylor, who opened The Spotsy Spot with her husband.
Mark Taylor has his morning cup of coffee while checking in on his business in Spotsylvania. The cheerful Spotsy Spot
'I like to tell people we don't have a drive-through--it's kind of unfast food,' says Taylor as he plays
This modest Victorian-era farmhouse is home to a mission. The Spotsy Spot |
Downtown Spotsylvania? Just where and what would that be?
For Mark and Francesca Taylor, Spotsylvania County lacked a center, a focus for a unique county identity.
"I've run into Spotsylvanians who think they live in Fredericksburg," Francesca Taylor said. "We do have a strong sense of communityWe want to contribute to that vision of a downtown."
To that end, they've turned their 19th-century farmhouse, located on Courthouse Road next door to the Spotsylvania County Museum, into a gathering place where people can get breakfast or lunch, enjoy ice cream cones, play a game of checkers or sit and chat over a cup of coffee. They call it The Spotsy Spot.
And to emphasize the "Spotsylvanianess" of the area, they have provided exhibit space for various local artisans to show and sell their wares.
Turned wooden bowls, hand-forged utensils and pen-and-ink sketches of Spotsylvania landmarks are prominently displayed along the way to the counter where folks order sandwiches or ice cream.
"There are things here we should take note of, have pride in," Mark Taylor said. "There are people here now who do unique and lovely things."
Among them is Danny Roberts, a Virginia Department of Forestry employee who delights in turning chunks of wood into beautiful objects.
"I say you look at a piece of wood and it's a Cracker Jack box--it has a prize inside," Roberts said. "Every piece of wood has a secret inside. You just have to unlock it."
He uses his lathe to turn out beautiful salad bowls, candy dishes and vases as well as some toys like wooden tops.
"I turn out a little bit of everything. It's still a hobby," he said, but notes that he has come a long way in the time he's been doing it.
Displaying his work at The Spotsy Spot has spread his fame, Roberts said.
"I run into people all the time who say 'I saw your stuff. I didn't know you did that.'"
He appreciates the Taylors' efforts to showcase local artisans.
"People are what gives the courthouse a real flavor," he said. "There are a lot of good craftsmen doing real quality stuff."
Artist John Burnette and blacksmith Hunter Perkinson also display their work at The Spotsy Spot.
Perkinson, a Spotsylvania County native and graduate of Spotsylvania High School, came to his craft after working as an industrial arts teacher in the county. His design was the winning entry in the county's recent contest for its Gov. Spotswood Award.
He does custom work at his Featherstone Forge, making wrought-iron patio tables, telephone stands and other occasional furniture as well as fireplace screens.
Burnette, who trained at the Maryland Institute of Art, moved to the county in 1982. He worked as an illustrator at Walter Reed Army Hospital and NASA before his retirement. Now he paints and draws for himself. The Spotsy Spot features his pen-and-ink sketches of Spotsylvania landmarks.
Woodworker Lee Kane's signature piece is a replica of the portable desk Stonewall Jackson carried with him on his Civil War campaigns.
Kane, who retired from the Marine Corps in 1986, has turned his avocation into a vocation.
"I thought it would be neat to take downed trees and, instead of burning them, make something out of them," Kane said.
He was recently able to get some wood from a red oak tree that stood at Jackson's grave site in Lexington, and has made some of the Jackson desks from the tree.
Kane said he appreciates having his work in The Spot because "a lot of people come in there to browse, have coffee. We got the idea because we stop in there for coffee three times a week," Kane said.
The house caught the Taylors' interest when they moved to the area from Northern Virginia 10 years ago, but it wasn't for sale then.
"We wanted to buy the house and live in it," Taylor said. "The house is adorable. A number of people walk in here and say they remember this house from somewhere. It has that wonderful feeling to it that only comes through time and love."
They also liked the fact that it was part of the village clustered around the courthouse and its government offices, historic sites and handful of small shops and eateries including The Pear Tree gift shop and cafe and The Courthouse Cafe.
"It was the right place in the right place," Taylor said.
They finally acquired the house in 2004, when the previous occupant died. By that time, some major renovations were needed.
The Taylors realized it would be impossible to live in the farmhouse with three growing children while renovations were in progress.
However, they could make it into a place that would foster a sense of community.
Francesca Taylor had grown up in the restaurant business, so that was a logical direction for them.
And there were other advantages as well. The Taylor children are home-schooled, and the business has been a great educational tool, Francesca Taylor said.
The Spot opens at 7 a.m. for the breakfast trade and stays open until 9 p.m. during the winter, 10 p.m. in the summer.
"Not staying open in the evening makes the whole [courthouse area] dark and shut down. Summer especially," Francesca Taylor said. "That's why we have the games, the checker board, to encourage people to come and stay for a while."
The ice cream and coffee customers are more apt to linger, she said.
"Moms and kids stop and play a game."
Renovating the house was a family affair as well. Indeed, daughter Sarah, 17, refers to it as "a home-schooling project run amok."
There were times Mark Taylor was tempted to give it up. But the fact that the house is listed in the county's historic inventory as contributing to the courthouse historic district kept him going.
"The Spotsy Spot is my contribution to what I hope will be many unique shops and services down by the courthouse."
To reach LUCIA ANDERSON:
Email: landerson@freelancestar.com
