The old saying that when one door closes, another door opens is quite apropos in downtown Magnolia. With Miller’s Pharmacy, a staple business at the town’s square for decades, shuttering its doors abruptly two weeks ago, an announcement came Thursday night just two doors down from the former retailer to give the southern corridor of the square a bit more life.
Passersby could see that something was stirring recently on the first floor of The Loft on the Square, and rumors had swirled predicting what was brewing there, but the announcement came officially Thursday evening that an old-fashioned treat shop, named Maggie’s Cones, Cups & Confections, was headed to the downtown space.
Jeffrey and Heather Becker, the owners of the new shop as well as The Loft, purchased the property from former owner Sandra McCalman in October.
“The upstairs will remain as the guest suites, but we had the intention of the doing something downstairs,” said Heather.
The planned interior décor is not yet on display, but it calls for a vintage, “home-style” soda and ice cream shop vibe. The roughly 2,600 square-foot first-floor space below the five-room boutique suite hotel was formerly a lobby and lounge area for guests of The Loft. Before that, it was the Cosmopolitan Ladies Club and a retail space.
The area is currently being gutted and will be remodeled.
“We hope we’ll be up and going by mid-January,” Heather added.
The menu will feature not only artisanal ice cream and cupcakes, but milkshakes and “goodies” as well. It will also accommodate special dietary habits, such as Keto and low-carb diets.
The tentative hours of operation will vary, but the Beckers know for certain the business will be closed on Sundays. Other than that, the owners hope to operate from around 10 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, with hours extended on Friday and Saturday nights to around 11 p.m.
The longer weekend hours will hopefully accommodate both families looking for a treat after plays or shows on the square or dessert after dining at the square’s restaurants and also serve as a late-night spot for college kids to relax away from campus.
“Originally, we thought our primary audience would be families -- and it still is,” said Heather, “but we had such response from SAU marketing groups that we’ve been working with for a place students can come later at night just to get away from their books instead of going to a fast-food place.”
The business also plans to accommodate hours for special events, such as festivals and downtown gatherings.
“We just want to have a fun, relaxing space here on the square for families, college students, and everybody to come, and enjoy some ice cream on the square,” she added.
The hotel itself is also in line for a few upgrades. Some rooms currently share a bathroom suite, but the owners hope to address that as well in the future.
The Beckers hope the new business venture will help keep the square vibrant. The southern side recently lost two tenants -– the aforementioned Miller’s Pharmacy and the next-door Columbia County Annex last year when the county government moved their offices into its Boundary Street complex.
“We just want to help revitalize and grow downtown,” Heather said.