These Times

Marmo Caffe & Gallery, one of the newest businesses in Shelton, is a few doors down Cota Street from the Journal, the oldest business in Mason County.

When I entered Marmo for the first time several months ago, I saw tables of Italian marble, I saw framed paintings and photos artfully spaced and displayed against white walls, I saw a bathroom that’s one of the most attractive bathrooms I’ve ever done business in, I saw food products for sale from Europe and I saw the elegance of its caffeine-production machinery.

“This place isn’t going to make it,” I thought. “It’s way too nice for Shelton.”...