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People who work in a downtown Roanoke high-rise office building orwho park in its adjacent garage now are an appetizing customerniche for a local coffee retailer.

For a little more than a week, Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea hasbeen brewing its java and other beverages in the lobby of theWachovia Tower at the corner of South Jefferson Street and SalemAvenue. The coffee and food retailer has opened a shop in a250-square-foot space beside the tower's security desk.

The arrival of the new shop comes after Mill Mountain shifted itsdowntown store to new digs at 117 Campbell Ave. in May.

Demand for java from the Wachovia Tower's approximately 400employees inspired Mill Mountain's expansion into the officebuilding.

Dennis Cronk of Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group said heapproached the coffee retailer about opening a shop in the lobby.Poe & Cronk manages and leases the office building.

"We have a lot of people who have requested over the years that weprovide a similar amenity," Cronk said.

By serving coffee, tea and other beverages, Mill Mountain hopes toentice people who work for companies located in the tower or whopass through its lobby from the parking garage. The potential ofdrawing a lucrative customer base appears high.

About 550 people will work inside the Wachovia Tower oncearchitectural and engineering firm Hayes, Seay, Mattern &Mattern moves into the building by the end of the year, Cronk said.That move will add about 160 employees.

Cronk estimated that more than 100 people park their vehicles inthe tower's parking garage, though they do not work inside thetower. Many stroll through its lobby to get to their officeselsewhere in downtown, he said.

The Wachovia Tower already is 96 percent occupied, Cronk added. Itopened in 1991, rises 20 floors and houses approximately 218,000square feet of office space, he said.

Luis Murillo, who is district manager for Mill Mountain, describedthe retailer's new Wachovia Tower space as a convenient stop forcustomers and a "good opportunity" for its business.

Unlike some of Mill Mountain's other Roanoke Valley locations, thissmall shop does not serve a full breakfast menu. It sells muffins,scones, cookies, yogurt and other grab-and-go foods.

Customers, however, can place orders for lunch. Sandwiches andother fare on Mill Mountain's lunch menu are prepared at itsCampbell Avenue location and delivered to the tower shop.

Already, there has been early demand for lunch delivery. On itsfirst day open, Mill Mountain sold at least three lunches at thetower location, Murillo said.

This coffee retailer has a history in the Roanoke Valley. DaveJohnson opened Mill Mountain's first shop in downtown Roanoke in1990. Since then, the retailer has grown to include three otherlocations in the Roanoke Valley and two in Richmond. One is acoffee kiosk inside a Richmond hospital.

For now, the Wachovia Tower shop opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 2p.m. Eventually, the afternoon hours may expand depending oncustomer traffic, Murillo said.

And Mill Mountain may not be done growing in the Roanoke Valley.Murillo said plans are brewing for an additional location, but hewould not disclose details.