A local small business is making strides in Jacksonville by bringing something unique and progressive to the community. 

The Grazing Tray, which shares shop with Coffee Haven, opened its storefront on Oct. 12. The Grazing Tray owner, Samantha Prevatte and Coffee Haven owner, Katie Lee, have been best friends since high school, and together have started serving the community in big ways.

"I knew that I needed to serve in a larger capacity," said Prevatte, "and I had started this during the pandemic. We run another business and I was just really feeling burnt out. Loved what I did, still love it, and my husband's running it now, but I was just really burnt out and needed something a little more creative."

The Grazing Tray is a charcuterie-based restaurant serving charcuterie boards, deli sandwiches, and other healthy and affordable foods. 

Prevatte said Lori and Martin Aragona, who she said have pioneered restoring downtown, were excited about her plans to open a storefront for The Grazing Tray, and offered her the unit she's currently in. 

"They've made it easy for small business owners to occupy the spaces they've worked incredibly hard to revitalize," said Prevatte. 

She said the unit had a coffee bar in it, which led her to reach out to Lee, who owns Coffee Haven in Sneads Ferry, which has been open for nearly two years. 

"I said, 'Hey look, best friends don't let best friends make bad coffee. I'm going to need you to come do coffee,'" said Prevatte. 

Coffee Haven serves coffee, smoothies, teas, frappes, cappuccinos and house brews.

"We're both local," said Prevatte, explaining that both her and Lee are graduates of Southwest High School. "I knew she wanted to eventually make her way to Jacksonville and both being local, both being from here, it's really cool to be in the downtown area where not much is happening right now."

"I knew eventually I would love to bring coffee into Jacksonville," said Lee. "I didn't really anticipate it to be as soon as it did, but it kind of all worked out in a sense."

Prevatte said she didn't have a grand plan, or an idea mapped out, but that she knew she loved charcuterie and that no one was doing it here. The closest she found were out in the Carolina Beach area and the far end of New Bern. After a lot of research, and teaching herself how to create charcuterie boards, Prevatte thought about starting the business. 

"I did it for my mother in law's birthday, and then I had done it for a couple birthdays, couple friends, couple get togethers, and then I realized, oh my gosh, this could be a thing," said Prevatte. 

She said the pandemic gave her the opportunity to get in at a good time with the opportunity to offer delivery with a touch of luxury, since restaurants weren't really open for patrons, but that over time it has grown into what it is now, and that she's really glad it has. 

Prevatte and Lee aren't just simply serving coffee and food, however. They're serving the community in a much bigger way. 

They recently held a drive called 'Boxes for Bellies,' where people could pledge a certain amount of boxes that were $13 each. They teamed up with CHEW for the drive. 

"We were able to raise over $11,000 in 36 hours," said Prevatte. "So, we packed out 900 boxes with the community's help." 

The money raised allowed them to also give CHEW a check for $5,000. 

Another big way The Grazing Tray and Coffee Haven are trying to help the community is with a wall they have where customers can come in and purchase meals or drinks that are put on the wall for those who may need it. 

"If someone comes in that's in need or just can't afford something today, or just going through a hard time or anything, they can pick a meal or drink on the wall that's been covered," said Lee. "So, it's going back into the community and that's something we are both really big on."

Prevatte also said that giving without asking questions is really big for them. 

"When we sat down, and I was talking about this, the biggest thing for me and one thing that we mutually both agree on, is that everyone is welcome here, and how can we be impactful if there is someone that comes in and is in need," said Prevatte. "So we have that on the wall and the idea is that they can kind of browse the menu that other people have purchased, and it gives them a sense of freedom."

Although Prevatte and Lee have ideas for the future, whether that be expansion or other projects, Prevatte said she wants to just be where her feet are right now, and that in this season, this is what God has called her to do.

"I mean our goal was to serve 50 sandwiches a day and it has exceeded that expectation tremendously and we owe that to the community," said Prevatte.

The Grazing Tray and Coffee Haven is located at 622 Court Street in Jacksonville, and is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a breakfast hour from 7-10:30 a.m. that offers bagels, avocado toast, nut butter berry toast, and other items. 

They also host events that they cater off location.

Charcuterie boards are available every day, provided stock is on hand, and are offered in small, medium, and large sizes, as well as 8x8 boards and custom 12x12 boards. Prevatte said you can call ahead to request boards for birthdays, anniversaries, and other events. 

For more information, visit their Facebook page, or call 910-333-9028.

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com