Each time Sara Liao-Troth drove along Northwest Drive, she saw the empty shell of the old Pynor’s Market and Deli and thought it was a shame that spot was going to waste. That won’t be the case for much longer.

Liao-Troth and Jeff Hopwood have been busy completely renovating the building on the corner of Northwest Drive and Smith Road. The new store, cafe and drive-through espresso will be called Greene’s Corner, and they plan to have it ready by June.

Liao-Troth and Hopwood want Greene’s Corner to have that traditional neighborhood grocery store feel, serving nearby residents, workers and commuters as well as the thousands of soccer players who visit the nearby Northwest Soccer Fields each week for most of the year.

“In some ways we want it to be a specialty store where shoppers can find some unique products, but we also want it to be a place where people can pick up some milk on the way home or get some snacks for the soccer game,” Liao-Troth said.

The building has been on that corner since 1922, and the owners have been learning a bit about its history as they peel back the old siding during the renovation. They have some old photos of the building when Northwest Drive was a gravel road, but they are hoping to learn more about its history and see other old photos from longtime neighbors.

“We found out during this renovation that it was a feed store and was a Rocket Fuel gas station before turning into a convenience market in the 1970s,” said Liao-Troth. She added that they’ve stripped the building down to its basic shell but want to restore it in a way that it still has a 1920s feel, with an art deco style to it.

Hopwood said they wanted to come up with a name that served as an identifier for that part of the county that had a fresh sound to it.

“Right now it’s called ‘that place by the soccer fields,’ so hopefully that’ll change,” Hopwood said.

The cafe will have a full-service kitchen and offer light fare, including made-to-order sandwiches and it will have free wifi.

For more information, visit www.greenescorner.com.

OTHER TIDBITS Java Town Espresso has entered a licensing agreement with Lifestyle Events, owners of Emerald Bay Events Center, and a 24-hour espresso stand recently opened next to the center at 5715 Barrett Road in Ferndale. … Digs, a furniture/ home decor store, is now open at the former Brenthaven spot at 200 W. Holly St. Gretchen Bjork, who also owns Left Right Left shoes, opened the store with her husband, Ben Knudsen. … The new Ferndale Farmers Market is looking for vendors. There will be a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. April 22 at the Ferndale Council Chambers to discuss market rules and start making stall assignments.