Artists and businesses in the emerging Village of West Greenville will soon have a place to get their coffee fix when The Village Grind opens on Pendleton Street in early/mid-November.
Business partners Jim Bolt, Carl Chambers and Lindsey George came together with a few serendipitous conversations. Bolt, a retired dentist who drives to Augusta weekly to teach dentistry, was talking to Michael Watts, who owns several Village of West Greenville properties, over a beer one night. Bolt said the drive was getting to be a bit much, so Watts asked him what he wanted to do next. Bolt said he had always wanted to own a coffee shop (even though he says he knows little about coffee).
Watts said that he had the perfect space available in the Village and even knew of someone (George) who had worked at Spill the Beans on Main Street and wanted to open a coffee shop. Bolt called Chambers, who had been his college roommate, to see if he might be interested in a partner. Just like that, it “all fell together,” said Bolt.
“Being part of a coffee shop has been a lifelong dream for me,” said George.
Located next door to Lily Pottery, The Village Grind will feature beans roasted from Taylors-based Due South Coffee. George, who will serve as general manager, said Ricardo Pereira and Patrick McInerney from Due South “have a lot of pride in their coffee, right down to helping us select the equipment that The Village Grind will use. It’s really great coffee.”
The space will feature exposed brick, concrete floors and exposed beams, as well as table and bar-top seating and a makeshift living room space.
“We want to keep with the whole mill village, industrial feel, and make it very inviting,” said George. The shop will also feature artwork by local Village artists on the walls.
Village Grind is planning on “keeping it community-centered and local,” with a local milk supplier and local pastries brought in. A tea selection will also be offered, “but the main focus will be on the coffee,” said George. The partners plan to be open five days a week, from early morning until late afternoon.
“But if there’s an event here (on the weekend or in the evening), we’ll be open,” she said.
Future plans will depend on customer demand and may include a delivery service and live music on certain days.
“We’ll morph into whatever we need to be down here,” Bolt said. “We can see the growth and development that’s happening and coming. We want it to be convenient for people in the Village but we also would like to see it become a destination.”
