East Lyme ― Nearly 100 friends and customers of Cafe SoL took to the sidewalks Wednesday morning, pulling wheelbarrows full of mugs, pushing wagons piled with boxes of tea, carrying chairs and putting tins of coffee beans in their bags as the business started its move from its current location at 346 Main St. to its new home at 488 Main St.

Drivers turned their heads as they noticed the unusual sight in Niantic. A passing bike rider stopped and pitched in.

The move comes after the planned demolition of the 346 Main St. location to make room for the latest mixed use project from builder and investor David Preka.

Renovations are underway at the former Silver Skate building, which has been painted deep blue, and Cafe SoL owner Tabatha Miranda hopes to reopen soon.

Miranda wore a yellow headband shaped like the sun as she helped customers load and clear out the store room. She said the real move would start next week.

“We had a lot of customers who asked how they could help,” she said. “It started as a joke. I would tell them to bring a wagon. Now they’re here.”

Just before 11 a.m., a line led out the door of the cafe as employees helped load bags and wagons for participants. Some visitors signed the yellow walls on their way out with black markers.

“We started with you when we were moving,” wrote Mary Ann Heenehan of Niantic.

She and her husband would walk to the cafe when they moved to town for cups of coffee to fuel unpacking sessions or meals when their kitchen was being worked on.

“Now we get to help them,” she said.

Miranda’s face was full of tears as she led the parade up the sidewalk the 0.2 miles. She linked arms with her mother, Yvonne Miranda, and daughters Isabel Mugovero, who carried the open flag, and Miranda Mugovero, who was dressed as the circus ringleader. Family friend Justine Nicole Wheeler was dressed in bright yellow and danced alongside them as Colin Mason played a bass drum.

A line wrapped around the building as the community members helped unload at the new location.