Lowe's Gift Transforms Veterans' 'Gathering Place'

The streets of downtown Mooresville, NC were filled with all the pomp and circumstance of a smalltown Veterans celebration with flags flying, soldiers and veterans marching and hundreds of people lining the streets to honor local veterans.

The celebration centered around Richard's Coffee Shop, a beloved gathering place for veterans that is celebrating their Grand-reopening thanks to a game-changing renovation that Lowe's made happen.

The idea to build a commercial kitchen came together after Lowe's Executive Vice President of stores, Joe McFarland stopped in for coffee with the Mooresville mayor one day last year. A Marine and veteran of Desert Storm, McFarland popped back in the kitchen and was stunned at what he saw.

"There was a woman - Robin Mackenzie- and her grandson volunteering, cooking 150 to 200 plates every Saturday and when I saw how they were cooking everything, it's something you'd have in your barracks or dorm room. They were using a two burner plug in plate. Those meals were prepared with love but they needed help so that day we promised the team they'd have a new kitchen before Veterans Day the next year."

More than just a coffee shop, Richard's is also home to the Welcome Home Veterans Military Museum and the headquarters for Welcome Home Veterans, a nonprofit that provides veterans financial assistance and helps with repair projects and things like wheelchair ramps, at veterans' homes. The shop is named for the original owner, Richard Warren, who opened Pat's Gourmet Coffee in a smaller Main Street space in 1995. Warren, an army combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam, created a place that welcomed veterans, and he literally greeted each one with the saying, "Welcome Home."

Jack Wales is the nonprofit's Board Treasurer and says the coffee shop and the museum have been lifesaving for some veterans. "I think it helps veterans enjoy the history of where they served and while they're here, they can talk to other veterans going through what they're going through and the organization also helps veterans with anything they might be going through personally or financially."

A regular at Richard's since 2000, Marvin Bruce served on a US Navy submarine and says, "It's a landmark. It's a place where veterans can get together and talk to people who actually understand what you're taking about and we all have similar experiences and it's just a place where you can relax and be yourself."

The coffee shop itself is also a nonprofit and everyone who works there is actually a volunteer so it's fitting that much of the work on the kitchen makeover was thanks to an army of volunteers.

Lowe's Mooresville Store Manager Cory Callaway oversaw building the commercial kitchen and says Lowe's vendors and associates really stepped up to get it done. Callaway brought in architects and engineers beginning in February and by August they started the remodel.

"We worked with Lowe's Pro partner True Craft and they were able to sub all the work for plumbing, electrical, painters, drywall - everything. It was really a community effort and most of the companies that took part were military owned businesses."

Lowe's donated all the large kitchen equipment, and the entire project was a labor of love for Calloway, who grew up in a family of veterans.

"My family is mostly in the military and it's something I took to heart because of my upbringing and my respect for all that Richard's does for the local community. I come in about once a week and this is a meeting place for a lot of veterans and to see the smiles on their faces means a lot. Robin does a really nice job of cooking breakfast and lunch for the veterans and now it's going to be a lot easier."

Robin Mackenzie, the longtime volunteer cook who McFarland saw working in the old kitchen prompting the renovation, was in tears at the grand reopening celebration, so moved by all that Lowe's has done. "I've worked for 10 years on a two-burner stove and this gives me extra room and the freedom to make a lot more stuff. The tears you see are because I'm so grateful!"

Wales says they've already added to the menu and are looking to bring in more volunteer cooks. "It's a restart. This is a complete restart for Richard's. It's amazing what Lowe's does for veterans. It means a lot to me and to the people in here."

"I think It's fantastic," Beaver adds. "They're support for this coffee shop sends a message to other communities in the country that veterans play a vital part in what this country stands for."

McFarland, who has been coming to Richard's since 2018, says he hopes the new kitchen will ensure Richard's legacy for decades to come. "That kitchen and the number of veterans it is going to serve is not going to end for a long time. That kitchen won't be outdated for 50 years so the amount of meals, amount of stories, smiles and friendships that will come through here, it's special. It's hard to describe, it's just special."

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