Lake-area business roundup - January 22, 2010

There are always changes going on in the retail and restaurant business. Here are the latest.

Solid Ground owners take on new ventures

Robert Carkin, co-owner of Solid Ground Coffee & Tea at Westlake, is incorporating his own catering company. Since May, he's catered about a dozen events under Solid Ground Catering.

The company is available to cater events from private dinners for two to outdoor barbecues to plated wedding receptions with entrees including lobster ravioli or mint-encrusted rack of lamb.

Next month, Carkin plans to open Dolce Strato, a wholesale pastry company. He'll bake and sell about 10 flavors of scones to food vendors.

Carkin also will switch his wedding and event cake business from the catering company to Dolce Strato.

His partner in Solid Ground, Chris Spoon, will launch his coffee-roasting company early next month.

"I'm going to have 14 single-origin coffees," he said. "I'll have multiple blends as well as espresso blends and plenty of decaf."

Spoon said he will roast to order whole beans or grounds. His roasted coffee already is available at Solid Ground. Spoon said customers can either place special orders for Honest Coffee Roasters or buy single bags at the coffee shop.

The opening of the roaster will mean Solid Ground will begin serving IV Drip, a blend Spoon created while working at Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea in Daleville after an EMT asked for a high-caffeine coffee with a soft flavor.

For more information about Honest Coffee Roasters or to place an order, call Solid Ground Coffee & Tea at 721-3737.

Catering by Strato and Dolce Strato, 588-7119.

VitaZen

VitaZen, a health foods and supplement store, has relocated. The store, originally at Westlake Towne Center, moved across the street on Nov. 23.

"It's a bigger location," said Brett Keister, owner. "We've got more space and we've added the yoga studio."

His wife Glenda had taught yoga classes previously at the Jazzercise Studio in Westlake Commons.

VitaZen will host a grand reopening on Feb. 12-13.

VitaZen, 12787 BTW Highway, Suite 103, Hardy. 721-9365.

Closings

Chris Finley, director of marketing for The Willard Companies, said Essence Aesthetics closed its business at Westlake Professional Park behind Kroger earlier this month. Finley said the business left before its lease expired.

The Little Gallery II, which opened June 5 at Westlake Towne Center, closed early this month. The original art store, The Little Gallery, is still open at its Bridgewater Plaza location, said co-owner Carol Swain.

She said opening the second location was an experiment, but with the state of the economy, Swain and co-owner Kay King decided to close it.

The Little Gallery, Bridgewater Plaza, 16430 BTW Highway, Moneta. 721-1596. www.thelittlegallerysml.com