A small Jacksonville shop is celebrating 20 years of serving the community this week, and their coffee and family values have become a staple for many in Onslow County.
Maddie’s Coffee House opened at 2040 Wilmington Highway in Jacksonville on Sept. 3, 2004, and is still there today. When Anthony Waters and his wife Valerie decided to open a coffee shop, they never expected it would be here 20 years later.
Waters served in the Marine Corps as an aviation analyst and after leaving the service decided he wanted to work for himself instead of for the government. He said he’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit.
After extensive research into coffee roasters, Waters decided that he actually wanted to become a coffee roaster because he loved coffee.
“I got a coffee roaster, set it up in a shed behind my house, roasted coffee and sold it at squadron bases,” Waters said. “When I retired, I had a little stand in a strip mall and sold coffee by the pound. It didn’t work out.”
Waters said he knew he needed more space for his restaurant when one day he happened to pass by 2040 Wilmington Highway, where Hot Dogs Plus was then located, and noticed a “For Lease” sign. The owner was Virgil Davis, a local Baptist pastor.
Waters went inside and told Davis he wanted to rent out the space as a coffee house.
“My dad got on his knees behind the shop and he was praying to God to send somebody over because he was having a hard time, and tears started flowing,” Waters said. “He sold me all the commercial equipment and tables in the shop, and I took over the lease and started the coffee house.”
The rest, needless to say, is history.
Maddie’s now roasts its own coffee in-house as well as serving deli sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches and more.
But the past 20 years haven’t always been easy.
Waters explained that Maddie’s has weathered many storms, from Hurricane Florence to the metaphorical storms of COVID-19, the housing crisis and the stock market crash, but they’ve never let that stop them from doing what they do best: serving their local community.
In fact, during the pandemic, contractors had a hard time coming to work on base because of a shortage of masks, Waters said, so Valerie Waters used a sewing machine inside Maddie’s to make masks out of fabric and vacuum cleaner filters.
“It’s been hard and it’s been costly,” Anthony Waters said, “but it’s been great to give back to the community and be a part of the community. Don’t believe the hype. There are more good people in this world than bad people.”
Anthony Waters said in the 20 years he’s been in business he’s only encountered rude or angry customers maybe twice.
“Especially for me as a Christian, this shows me that there are still a lot of good people in the world and that it’s not what we always see on TV,” he added.
Longtime customer Cindy Eby has been coming to Maddie’s since it first opened, and she said she doesn’t know where she’d go without it.
“I love coffee and the coffee here is the best,” Eby said, adding that it’s stronger and cheaper than most big-name coffee chains.
But it’s not just the coffee that keeps Eby coming back: The Waters family has been a part of the community for years, Eby said.
“They’re so humble,” she says, “I’ve never seen them say, ‘Yeah, Maddie donated this,’ but they are. They’re always giving back.”
She added: “They’re just doing it out of goodwill and they have big hearts.”
Eby also enjoys watching the Waters children grow up, as Maddie’s has always been a family business: Anthony and Valerie’s daughter Eliana now has two children and plans to take over Maddie’s one day.
But Valerie and Anthony said they might eventually switch away from coffee.
“We don’t know what it’s going to be, but it’s still going to be here and it’s still going to be part of the community,” Anthony Waters said, adding, “That’s part of being a family.”
Eby said it was a great achievement that Maddie’s has stayed in business for so long.
“I love how welcoming everyone is,” she says. “They welcome my dog too. I can bring my dog and sit outside with him. It’s open to everyone. I love the variety of customers that come here. I love everyone.”
Anthony Waters said he hopes more people will come to Muddy’s Coffee House, which is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and can be contacted at 910-937-0800.