If it had been a boxing match it might have been stopped sooner. Honey Dew Donuts never really had a chance – not in Bonnet Shores, anyway. Not where folks love the Coffee Connection and Real Muffins just about as much as they love the beach.
John and Ann Marie Silveira have owned the Coffee Connection on Route 1A (Boston Neck Road) for over six years. Along with their children, John, 20, and Jennifer, 22, the family also operates Bonnet Shears, a unisex hair salon just two doors down from the popular coffee shop.
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About a year-and-a-half ago, Honey Dew Donuts built a new store right next door to the Coffee Connection. Folks in Bonnet Shores were leery. They don’t tend to embrace franchises.
A Brooks Pharmacy had moved in at the corner, and before that a Dunkin Donuts had opened shop about a mile down the road. They continue to do well. Honey Dew took a chance.
They had a drive-thru window, plenty of parking and all the resources that come with being a chain operation. But they didn’t have one thing the Silveiras had – deeply rooted customer loyalty. Loyalty from customers like Maryann McKenna, a local real estate agent who visits Coffee Connection on a regular basis.
“They have great food and the best help in Rhode Island,” McKenna said. “They’re fast and efficient. And I like supporting small town places.”
The guys at the fire station across the street also stop in just about every day.
“They’ve got good bagels and good coffee – and they’re local,” said Lt. Joe Conroy. “I grew up in a small town.”
John Silveira heard a lot of that sentiment when Honey Dew opened. But he still worried at first. Even though customers told him not to, he worried. How far would the loyalty carry?
“We were concerned,” Silveira said. “But we knew we had products unlike theirs.”
Those products include Allies Donuts, Newport Creamery ice cream and fresh bagels, muffins and sandwiches.
The Silveiras also offer service. They had installed a drive-thru of their own two years ago They know most of their customers by name. They hire local help. They listen to customer suggestions. That approach paid off. Big time.
“Right from the beginning they were giving things away and our sales were still up,” said Silveira. “After about six months, we knew”
They knew they were winning the battle, but they certainly didn’t expect the news that arrived the Sunday before Fourth of July weekend and the true beginning of the summer tourist season in South County.
“Our customers came in and asked what was going on next doorwhy were they closed,” said Silveira.
Jennifer Silveira said it came as a complete surprise.
“We didn’t know a thing,” she said.
A spokesperson from Honey Dew did not return several telephone calls from the Providence Business News.
Young John Silveira remembers those first few weeks, when the bright new building next door looked a bit intimidating. But the regulars kept coming. Every day. Week after week.
“Our regular customers kept us going,” he said. “And the summer people, they remember us and come back every year. The URI kids come back.”
Coffee Connection still faces competition. There is the Dunkin Donuts. And a mile down the road is Real Muffins, a popular muffin shop. But the market seems willing to support the three.
Real Muffins, in fact, has the same kind of loyal following as Coffee Connection. Owned by Nancy Hsu Fleming and her husband, Chris, Real Muffins was honored last month in Rhode Island Monthly as having the “Best Muffins” in Rhode Island.
Nancy Hsu Fleming has been in business for 14 years. The loyalty of area residents has been her staple.
“Small businesses like ours really rely on word of mouth,” she said. “People traveling by tend to look for name recognition, so the word of mouth is important.”
Back at Coffee Connection, it is business as usual on a Monday afternoon. There remains a sense of concern about the now vacant building next door.
Something is bound to happen there. South County – including the Bonnet Shores section of Narragansett, where a golf driving range recently opened – has grown too much in recent years for commercial developers not to seize the potential opportunity. The former Honey Dew building has few miles on it. There is plenty of parking .
Young John Silveira expects to see a new tenant. He’s hoping for a dry cleaners.
“Anything but a coffee shop,” he said.
His father has come out of the battle confident – and thankful.
“We just want to thank the people of Narragansett for sticking by us,” said Silveira. “We know that whatever happens next door, we’ll be okay.”
