Belair Donuts & Coffee Corner celebrated its fourth anniversary on Wednesday, Sept. 26 with the unveiling of a mural on the side of the building.
The owners, Mark and Michelle Parker, connected with Jeremy Rueggeberg of Beautify Augusta, who put them in contact with artist Cole Phail. Michelle said they wanted the mural as a way to make the building prettier and provide a fun experience for community members.
“It’s definitely a collaborative effort,” Michelle said of the mural. “I had been thinking about it for a while and I wasn’t ever able to make it come to fruition. But when I worked with Cole and I told him my ideas, this is what he came up with and so we’re really excited about it, we love it.”
Phail said he was approached by Rueggeberg because he had worked with Beautify Augusta before and after meeting with the couple, was on board.
Michelle had very specific ideas of what she wanted on the mural, so she took a hands-on approach and helped paint part of the mural. She did the letters, the logo, the blue and the sun.
“I just wanted to be a part of the project. I specified that the artists had to let me help paint, but I don’t think Cole knew what he was getting into because I was here every day,” Michelle said with a laugh.
As for how it was working with Michelle, Phail said it was a “unique experience” and he enjoyed getting to know her and Mark during the time.
“It was a big help honestly. She did a lot of things I don’t like to do with the text and the logo, very precise stuff that slows me down,” Phail said. “She was a big help, and it was great to get to know these guys and honestly to learn about Belair Donuts…”
The wall features a logo for Belair Donuts and different characters representing different types of clients, including a mother cup and two children floating on a donut, a kolache, a businessman coffee cup and a military man coffee cup, Phail said. In all, the mural took approximately two weeks to paint, and he was out there during the day keeping Michelle company and painting at night.
As for the finished project, Michelle said she loved it and it was “better than I could’ve possibly imagined.”
Visit the Belair Donuts & Coffee Corner Facebook page to stay up to date on what’s happening.
Stephanie Hill is the managing editor and covers Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
