Independent Weekly, Feb. 13-19, 2002, Page 41
This is an excerpt from a larger article about community coffeehouses in the Triangle. The Coffee Mill was one of only three such coffeehouses chosen for inclusion in the article!
After years in the health care business, husband-and-wife team Cliff Morgan and Jodi Sager decided to do something "fun" with their lives, and bought a coffeehouse that had just closed in Clayton, a place most folks know only from driving through on the way to the beach. As North Carolina locals, they knew that Clayton was becoming a boomtown; people who couldn't afford to live in Wake and Orange counties were moving over to Johnston County.
Within two months of opening in 2000, they were offering live music. "We started getting requests from folks who wanted to come in and play and it took off," says Morgan. "I get four or five contacts a week from musicians wanting to play the Coffee Mill, not only from N.C. and the Triangle area but from New York, Atlanta, Nashville..."
"We've got a good Web site developed," Morgan says, "and a lot of independent musicians out there, that's probably the way they book their tours, doing searches for coffeehouses."
These days, besides offering yoga classes and a children's puppet and storytelling hour Friday mornings, The Coffee Mill has live music Saturdays and Sundays [Ed. note: The live music is on Fridays and Saturdays; The Mill is closed on Sundays.], with open mic on Tuesdays and a new offering, open-mic poetry, on Wednesdays.
The room is small and the stage tiny—the musicians literally set up against the large front window. And the building, a 19th-century storefront with its high pressed-tin ceilings, wood wainscoting and high shelves, is like stepping into another time. But the Mill, offering everything from local favorites like Jonathon Byrd to touring acts, draws music fans from Cary and Raleigh as well as a local crowd. Morgan explains that Paul Barton, the guy who hosts his Tuesday open mic night, used to play in Twisted Sister ("he'll kill me for saying that") [Ed. note: Barton actually played in a band that opened for Twisted Sister, not in Twisted Sister itself.]. He mentions that Barton has started a studio where he's recorded several area groups. Upcoming events include a tribute to former Beatle George Harrison and, in June, a reprise of last year's "Millstock" fest: Twelve hours of music along with food and booths with works by local artisans. Morgan plans to expand into the large back end of the old store—maybe even have electric bands, add a small kitchen and a few micro-brews and wines, while maintaining a "smoke-free atmosphere to hear music." If he does that, the Mill might expand its hours.
"We close at 10. The way I look at it, if you want to go honky-tonkin' afterwards, you've still got time to do it."