JOHN COFFELTEditor

Local businesswoman Wendy Barton-Hillhouse closed an important chapter of her life this last weekend with the closing of the Good Karma Café located in the historic Henley Building on the Manchester square.

“It was an amazing place,” Hillhouse said. “I don’t want it to end, but you have to figure out what’s your next step. There’s no tears here today.”

Hillhouse said that as a self-employed businesswoman for over 20 years, she has reached the point where she felt it was time to evaluate her properties and investments.

“It’s so I can further my retirement,” Hillhouse said.

Hillhouse has lived for some time in Florida, commuting back and forth, leaving the day-to-day operation of Good Karma Café in the hands of her daughters, Alexus Mcclanahan and Alyssa “Lou” Mcclanahan, and mother Wendy Wright.

“I owned a piece of history,” Hillhouse said, referring to the location. As a child, she would attend old timer’s day and dreamt of owning a building on the square as an escape from the heat.

“Twenty years later, I ended up owning one,” she said.

Hillhouse rented the building first, and after the passing of the owner, Mary Niederhauser, was given the first option to buy the building.

She bought the location beginning with a floor covering store, then the business plan shifted to the then-burgeoning CBD market. A few years ago, almost by accident, the café took off, first just brewing coffee, then adding food items.

“The CBD store grew so fast that I decided to take up my floor covering store, divide it up and that part grew so fast,” Hillhouse said.

Patrons would visit, sometimes for hours, and the coffee house idea was born. Hillhouse had added a small kitchen to bake edible products and one day, she shared a bite she had fixed for herself and Good Karma Café soon began to take shape.

“The community needed it, wanted it and it developed its own self,” Hillhouse said. “It’s been a beautiful thing.”

“I’ve been on the square since about 2011,” Hillhouse said. “The building is awesome. It’s got great history.”

While packing up to close, Hillhouse found a number of historic mementos — flags, photos, souvenirs and even old receipts from when the location was a dress shop.

Hillhouse is not sure what is going to take the location, yet she hopes that it will be something that can connect people in the community the way Good Karma did.

“We need stuff on the square,” she said. “We’re losing businesses here. The people of Manchester really need to understand the importance of supporting small businesses.”

She notes the importance of people breaking out of their shells and mingle with others.

“We have a segregated community,” she said. “That’s how this place was different. It wasn’t if you’re in a click here, in a click there, you were just welcomed. ”

Good Karma Café will be opening at the family’s hometown near St. Augustine, Florida.

Hillhouse said CBD patrons can still order products from her online store at sourthernhealingenterprises.com.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.