By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROSCOE — Velvet Robot Coffee Lab has announced the opening date for its new location in the village’s downtown.
The coffee shop at 10514 Main St. will mark its debut on Wednesday, May 1, owner and founder Justin Carner said Tuesday in an Instagram live video.
“We can’t wait for you all to come see it,” Carner said in the video.
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Velvet Robot will open at 6:30 a.m. on May 1 and be open until 4 p.m. Its summer hours will be from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. he said.
Velvet Robot closed its downtown Rockford location, inside Rockford City Market at 116 N. Madison St., on Dec. 16 after more than three years in business there. It then began work to remodel the former Country Financial building for its new shop in Roscoe. Initially, the goal was to open by January, but preparing the site took longer than anticipated.
“When you take a 100-year-old building that was an insurance agency and you make it into a coffee shop … you learn some stuff,” Carner said in the video.
Velvet Robot continues to run its other location at 1292 S. Alpine Road in Rockford.
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Carner said in the video that he gets almost daily messages from people eager to know when the Roscoe location will open. He thanked everyone for their patience and support.
“We’re getting there. We’re really close,” he said. “We’re just waiting on our final inspection from the health department and then we are good to go.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas