Sweet Shop

Just as the school changed names over the years from the Concord State Normal School to the Concord State Teachers College to Concord College and finally Concord University, so too did the Sweet Shop.

John Spurgeon ‘Doc’ Ferrell (1905-1962) opened Ferrell’s in about 1934 in a building owned by the Coopers. It was on the corner of Coopers Street and Vermillion Street. The J M Cook Goods and Notions store had previously occupied the building located on the corner of Vermillion and Cooper Streets. Ferrell’s became known as Ferrell’s Sweet Shop and eventually just the Sweet Shop.

The Sweet Shop catered to the college crowd serving a few hot meals but more often hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and sodas and, as their sign proudly declared, pizza was their specialty.

As the name changed, so did the management and ownership of the Sweet Shop. At one time, the Mustard family ran the restaurant. Ralph Allen Mustard (1924-2016) was a World War II veteran. He was discharged on April 1, 1946.  He and his wife, Norma Lee Fitzhugh (1926-2007) owned and operated the Sweet Shop. Ralph and Norma Mustard likely owned and ran the Athenian Restaurant during some of the years they owned the Sweet Shop. They lived in the apartment above the Athenian.

The business and premises were purchased in 1955 by Earl Neville Sr. whose family operated the Sweet Shop until 1998. Earl lived in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, and bought the facility in Athens as his children started school at Concord. Children Earl Jr., Gary, Jim and Bonnie used the apartment above the Sweet Shop for housing while in college and they all worked in the restaurant. Bonnie was married to Pat Morgan, who also worked in the restaurant. The name "Sweet Shop" was changed to "The Hub," in the 1960s, but the new name was short-lived.

The Sweet Shop management hired college students as waiters and waitresses, giving them the opportunity to earn extra money to help with tuition, books, and other expenses. The Neville's also provided food services at Concord College football games. During the games, hot dogs, french fries, soft drinks, and snacks were sold from the concessions stand behind the bleachers in the stadium.

The Sweet Shop provided students at Concord with good food, a fun atmosphere, and a place for socializing with friends. For many, the restaurant on the edge of campus was a place where lifetime memories were made. 

An example is Ronnie Lynn Price, who met and married Russell Lockhart while both were students of Concord College. She said the Sweet Shop was what she remembered most about her time in Athens. She wrote, “I have such fond memories of Athens and the time I spent there during college. I met my husband at Concord College in 1991...."

Ronnie said " the Sweet Shop was located right beside the college campus near Sarvay Hall dormitory. It was a mom and pops restaurant that served the best steak hoagie ever. It was the kind of place you could grab dinner if you didn’t want cafeteria food, or the kind of place to take a date. Russell and I had one of our first real dates there. Miss that place. It’s sad that all we have now are memories.”

The Sweet Shop closed in 1998. Jim Neville stayed with the facility, living in the upstairs apartment that accomodated many in earlier years. He purchased neighboring houses, restored them, and continues to rent them to students and townspeople. The space that once housed the restaurant is now being used mostly for storage.