New coffee shop opens in downtown Washington

Published 5:18 pm Wednesday, June 14, 2023

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Antique bottles and candy in apothecary jars blend together to create a cozy, nostalgic atmosphere that feels like home inside Main Cup at the Little Inn coffee and soda shop. 

Bath native and Chocowinity resident Felicia Huggins, owner of Main Cup, hopes customers feel they’ve returned to the simple days of childhood when kids went downtown to get orangeades, lemonades, root beer floats and milkshakes.

“When you walk in here, you’re going to feel like this has been here for 100 years,” Huggins said. 

For customers not taking a trip down memory lane, Main Cup will have coffee, espresso, loose leaf hot teas, fountain drinks, sweet tea, pastries and desserts. 

Main Cup officially opened on Monday, June 12 dotting downtown Washington with another red door entrance. Huggins is the owner of Salon 208 which has a similar entryway next to the coffee shop. She also owns Apartments on Main and the new Little Inn that was built next to the Bank Bistro. 

“I felt like we needed another coffee shop in downtown, on this end of town especially,” Huggins said. She added that “it just felt right” to have a coffee shop next to the Inn. The Little Inn is a ten-room boutique hotel that is expected to open mid-July this year. 

In 1995, Huggins opened a hair salon in Washington on Market Street then moved to her current location on Main Street in 2001. Before she opened her first salon, Huggins was told the area was “on the verge of a comeback.” She said Washington’s comeback persisted through floods and recession. 

She said “it’s been great” being part of Washington’s comeback and to “see it go from a ghost town to a thriving little metropolis that we have now.” 

Main Cup at Little Inn is located at 210 W Main Street in Washington and is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.