Gretchen and Craig Grounsell, the owners of the recently closed Gretchen’s ABS Cakes, Cafe, and Supplies in Mauldin, have been married for over 50 years.
In 2023, they decided it was time to close their shop. The couple officially shut doors in late December, but their story is one that may ring familiar to many as it is one of love, dedication and passion.
Over a couple rainy weekdays before the shop closed, the Grounsells told their story.
Together, the Grounsells lived in various parts of the country, including Hawaii and Virginia. Throughout raising a family and Craig’s career in the Marine Corps, Gretchen loved to bake.
Baking was a skill passed down by her mother.
“That’s all I ever knew. I mean, I would be standing up on the chair with my mother, stirring. … Everything learning, and she loved it,” Gretchen said.
Gretchen was already baking for profit at home when Craig retired in 1987. Between winning gingerbread house competitions and baking pies and cakes for friends and clients, the clientele outgrew the home oven. In the early 2000s, the two realized they needed a shop.
In 2001, the Grounsells took over ABS Cakes and Candy, once located off Murray Drive. They changed the name slightly, adding “Gretchen’s,” and dropping “Candy,” but soon outgrew that as well. Eventually, they made a home for the shop on North Main.
The Grounsells were a mainstay in Mauldin for over 20 years. Their bakery cafe was part of birthdays, weddings and holidays and served as a lunch stop for those making their way up or down North Main Street.
“There are so many wonderful people that come in here,” Gretchen said.
The business began as a bakery, but soon expanded to a baking-supply shop and cafe. Later, Craig built a space in the back of the suite where the shop offered baking classes.
The cafe became part of their family.
The Grounsells’ daughter, Heather Grounsell Johnson, worked in the shop for about 20 years. She was able to work with her parents and raise her daughters there, now 20 and 9.
Looking back, Johnson said she’s been pleased to have been part of so many special days.
“All the cakes, the beautiful cakes that have gone out there and seeing all the people’s faces; some of the kids that come in here … they’re so excited,” Johnson said. “Some people cry, in a good way, over everything. So we make people happy in general.”
Related: Eggs Up Grill to open in former Gretchen’s ABS Cakes space in Mauldin
Johnson said the closure came down to health and economic changes. By closing, the Grounsells would have more time to focus on themselves and their grandchildren.
“It’s definitely bittersweet. But it’s just time,” she said before the closure.
One thing kept coming up as Gretchen and Craig recalled their days at the shop: the clientele.
“There’ve been a lot [of people] who have come in here and just told us goodbye, which is the best surprise,” Craig said.
