Masters Week means plenty of visitors to the CSRA, which means an influx of patronage for businesses in the area. Though the tournament kicked off Monday (postponement due to inclement weather notwithstanding), Rooted Coffeehouse saw a slight uptick a couple of days before, said co-founder Ali Kocher.
“Honestly, we have a lot of custom orders that take up a lot of our time, morning pickups for people who are going to the [Augusta] National, so that’s been really fun, too,” said Kocher, noting that though Monday morning was slow, the afternoon saw a larger crowd of visitors after the rainy weather led to a practice round delay. “People know about us, and so they’re able to order ahead, which is fun. It definitely was busy this weekend, but the weather was beautiful. And weather always dictates how our shop does.”
The Evans eatery, which has three locations in Columbia County including its flagship café in Riverwood Town Center, is offering its yearly Masters Lunch Box, with selections based on Augusta National’s lunch menu such as pimento cheese or egg salad sandwiches with chips and an Arnold Palmer.
The café gears up for tournament week with extra staff and prep for the expected crowds, “normally first timers, so we want to impress,” Kocher said, getting busier near the end of the week. Business is steady enough overall so that the increase doesn’t grow chaotic, though mornings tend to have a greater inflow of customers on the go.
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“If you are someone who wants to stay while, maybe [arrive] after that first morning rush is just a little slower and has a little more casual pace,” she said.
Rooted is located at 3116 William Few Pkwy., Ste. 1 and 7025 Evans Towne Center Blvd. Ste. 213 in Evans, and at 1030 West Lake Commons Dr. in Martinez.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
