The turkey almond jack melt ($6.50) is a top-seller during lunch.[/caption]After working in a coffee shop in North Carolina, Snug owner Sandra Nichols said she found a love for the environment a coffee shop provides and the products it offers. Shortly after she and her family moved to McKinney, she opened her shop.
“I learned the art of making coffee—the espressos—and I also fell in love with the intimacy of it that a coffee shop provided,” Nichols said. “It kind of got my wheels turning, and I started thinking, ‘You know, I would love to [open] a cozy breakfast spot.’”
Nichols said she understands the value of providing customers with ways to make their meal exactly the way they want it. She is the oldest of eight children, and as a mother she has five children of her own.
She said she remembers going out for breakfast to a place where the chef assembled the omelets based on what each person wanted.
Owner Sandra Nichols aims to keeps Snug’s atmosphere bright and cheerful.[/caption]“I loved that idea, so I knew when I opened Snug I wanted it to be something that—you know what you like best,” she said. “You know that you like garlic and onion and tomatoes, and that way you can order a breakfast sandwich and load it up, and you’re not going to be nickeled and dimed; you’re not going to be up-charged for everything.”
Nichols opened Snug on the Square in July 2012 in the space that is now Snug on the Run. She tried serving a varied menu out of the small kitchen the original space had available, but the kitchen was not well enough-equipped, she said.
“We were doing so much food out of a very tiny space,” she said.
When the landlord next door approached her about leasing the space, Nichols said she saw the opportunity to grow her business and offer the kind of menu she wanted. Snug on the Square’s cafe opened in September.
Now if a customer wants a quick breakfast such as a honey cinnamon latte and a bagel, he or she can visit Snug on the Go. If a customer wants to sit down for a full meal, they can head into the cafe.
The change has caused a bit of confusion for the shop’s regulars, Nichols said, but the reception for the cafe and its roomier environment has been good overall.
“Everybody keeps commenting, ‘Oh, we have room to breathe,’” Nichols said.
Nichols also said that the square’s tourism draw has contributed significantly to Snug’s success.
Nichols draws on other local talent and businesses to supply her restaurant with ingredients and decor.
The fresh Italian brioche that Snug uses for its breakfast sandwiches, melts and other sandwiches made by a local baker.
And many of the tables and much of the artwork throughout the business has been created by Ted Cantrell, an insurance salesman in McKinney.
Not all of the decorations are his handiwork, however. One of Nichols’ favorite signs in the cafe is one that says “Bee happy.” She and her two daughters made the sign together years ago, she said.
109 N. Kentucky St.
972-548-7684
www.snugonthesquare.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
