UBJ RESTAURANTS
Full of beans
Partners brew up downtown buzz with plans for Methodical Coffee SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com Coffee aficionados will soon have a new place to get their fix when Methodical Coffee opens in October at the Bank of America building in downtown Greenville. Will Shurtz, a certified Barista Guild of America (BGA) barista who currently runs Vagabond Barista, a traveling artisan coffee bar, will operate the new venture along with partners Marco Suarez and David Baker. Vagabond Barista will be folded into Methodical Coffee, which will offer the same type of mobile coffee service to customers. The coffee bar isn’t going to be like the typical chain, Suarez said. “In the
coffee business, there are different waves of coffee shops. Methodical is in the third wave.” Methodical Coffee will treat coffee as “more of a specialty” drink, he said. “It will be more about the flavors and notes – like wine, craft beers and small batch whiskeys.” Once open, Suarez plans to host “cupping nights” to teach people how to taste and drink coffee as well as provide a sampling of different coffees from around the world. Coffee, espressos, cappuccinos and Prohibition cocktails – coffee and tea-based cocktails with no alcohol – will be on the menu. Methodical Coffee will have different roasters from around the world, including a new local roaster in Greenville the partners are not quite
ready to announce. Pastries and some hot food items will come from a local pastry chef. They are planning to create “something that isn’t typical and that pushes the palate of Greenville, but not too far,” Suarez said. Inside the new shop, customers will be treated to a “1920s cocktail lounge vibe without the alcohol,” he said. Customers can expect the requisite table and chairs but no sofas. Photo Provided
Instead, they’ll find a large coffee bar and community table for large groups and tastings. “We’re going for humble sophistication,” he said. An outdoor mezzanine area will provide additional seating, and the trio also plans to occasionally turn the space into a pop-up-shop area to bring in complementary businesses such as menswear or art. “We want to celebrate the craft of things and the skills the people have and the people themselves,” he said. The new coffee bar is the brainchild of Shurtz, a passionate coffee lover, who started discussing the concept with his friend, Suarez. As the ideas kept percolating, the pair brought in Baker and “everything just fell into place,” said Suarez.
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July 25, 2014
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