RIDGEWAY, S.C. — “I feel I'm gonna make it through this,” said Carol Allen. “Because of this. I really do.”
Allen owns Laura’s Tea Room located off Highway 21 near West Church Street in Ridgeway.
It’s a place that customers say means a lot to the people in that community and beyond.
“Oh, I think it means the world,” said Becky Dodson, a customer from Columbia.
Allen started the business alongside her late mother sixteen years ago. Since then, she has grown the business into a successful consignment store, cafe and tearoom. And with that growth has come some personal challenges.
Allen was previously diagnosed with skin cancer, and beat it.
In May, she found out she has it again. This time, the cancer has spread to other parts of her body.
She says the tearoom was on her mind when she heard.
“I will say, that was probably one of the first things I thought of, was what's gonna happen,” Allen said.
But when members of the community heard about Allen’s battle with cancer, they knew they wanted to help.
“Shocked and sad,” said Aline Ferguson, a customer from Blythewood. “And I wanted to know what I can do.”
“Carol is is like family, she- she has an extensive email list and we hear from her a lot and it's always personal and it's like receiving a letter,” Dodson said. “And so when she told us about what she's going through, it was such a horrible thing and we hate it so much.”
That’s when folks from across the Midlands started pouring into the tearoom.
“I feel that they're really supporting the business and the staff feels that, Allen said. “They're taking care of the staff with bigger tips. They're coming in more often. We've been busy. We've had the best July we've ever had since we opened.”
Customers say they’re grateful the community has come together to support Allen.
“I think for her clients and community people to stand behind Carol is a very positive thing for her,” Ferguson said. “It will help her and I think it's exactly what she needs.”
“I appreciate every bit of it,” Allen said. “Really do.”
Allen is working to encourage her community to get checked often for cancerous cells. She says helping others prevent a similar diagnosis is her purpose now.