Success Story: The Corner Station

Cathey Bolton, longtime potter and successful business owner, has found a way to bring her passion for clay and culinary arts together with the launch of the Corner Station Olive Oil Company and the Third Bay Filling Station. Adding to her longtime venture, Cathy Bolton Pottery, each venture is a compliment to the next. According to Bolton, the result is a perfect trifecta. Starting with an established customer base, Bolton brought all the right ingredients to the corner of Depot and Branner in Downtown Waynesville.

The best part of these businesses is the rich family history that Bolton is keeping alive. For decades, locals relied on her great-grandfather, grandfather and uncle for all kinds of car repairs at Walker’s Station, which was a community staple in the same location as her new businesses. Paying homage to these institutions, Bolton and her mom, Katy Bolton who is also her business partner in the two new business ventures, came up with the new business names.

Throughout the years of operating a small business, Bolton has relied on help from Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center. “If I run into something I’m not sure about,” she explains, “I reach out to the Small Business Center. I strongly believe in using the resources that are available to you. I could spend all day on the computer trying to find the answer to a question but all I have to do is make a phone call and they can help.”

Bolton routinely relies on the network of resources available at the Small Business Center. Throughout the process of running her original business, to the start-up and sustainability of the new businesses, she has had the support of the center.

Bolton is not afraid to try new things. Putting espresso in a muffin? She’s all in! Through her small business journey, she has increased staffing to 7 positions, renovated a historic landmark in the town of Waynesville and has launched three business ventures, each unique, but connected to one another.