We were in a 254,000 square foot building, where millions of pounds of green coffee beans are roasted weekly and then shipped out to stores, hospitals, colleges, and hundreds of other businesses every week.

It's a fascinating complex, where you see giant burlap sacks loaded with beans from around the world...Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Columbia, and one of the world's newest exporters---Vietnam. All of these are blended together to make some of the most famous coffees in the world. If you've had coffee from McDonalds, Bojangles, Shoneys, Dunkin' Donuts, Hardees,etc etc---it was created, blended, and roasted right here at S & D in Concord.

One of our clues was, "When you're near it, you'll smell it". Imagine the incredible aroma inside the huge building, right off Highway 29, just a few miles beyond the Speedway, past Philip Morris...heading towards the downtown area of Concord. If you're a coffee lover, like me, it almost overwhelms you at first. But after a short amount of time, maybe ten minutes, your senses adjust and you begin to really appreciate what hundreds of workers do there everyday.

One person who really appreciated our time at S & D is WCNC's chief engineer, Steve Kiser. He grew-up in Concord, always wondering about that big building with the "great smell of coffee 24/7". Even as a little kid he was curious about the "building on the hill". Steve can now give you a complete, play-by-play description of the history of the company that's been a very quiet...but major part of the history of this community since its beginning way back in 1927.

Tomorrow our trip will introduce us to some "real... warriors".