After spending twenty years in Birmingham, Nancy Rhodes and her husband John decided to move to Greenville, where both of their parents originated.

Yet, when they came to town, Nancy noticed that something was missing-coffee.

“I am coffee lover, so when I realized there would be nowhere to sit and relax and drink a latte I thought, well, I’ve got to make one,” Rhodes said.

A few months later, Polka Dots Café was born.

Rhodes said she started with the idea of opening a small coffee shop, but the concept has grown into a full-blown restaurant, serving up breakfast and lunch with premium coffee.

“I started looking up and down Commerce for a small building and that’s when I found out that Jan Newton was closing the Chef’s Table,” Rhodes said. “It just fell into place, I guess.”

Rhodes said the name came to her one day when she was out shopping at Southern Treasures.

“I saw a polka dot purse in the window, and jokingly, I said lets call it Polka Dots Café,” Rhodes said. “I figured it would pass after about a week, but it stuck.”

Polka Dots Café opened its doors on Monday. They plan to start a Sunday lunch soon, but for now, the café is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In addition to coffee, Rhodes said they offer a full array of breakfast and lunch foods, including one specialty item that might be less than familiar to some Butler County residents.

“Its called a kolache, and they are everywhere in Texas,” Rhodes said. “You start with yeast dough, roll it out, take a handful of bacon, egg, cheese or whatever you want and bake it.”

The resulting creation is something that looks sort of like a combination between a yeast roll and a Hot Pocket. The pasty treat can be filled with anything from fruit to meat, Rhodes said.

“It’s sort of similar to a Danish, just a lot thinner so you get to taste a lot more of the fruit,” Rhodes said.