Cafe Review: Methodical Coffee in Greenville, SC by Guest
Greenville, South Carolina might have America’s prettiest café. Nestled on the ground floor of a Bank of America just off of the aptly-named Coffee Street stands Methodical Coffee, a humble yet highly sophisticated cafe that offers a minimalistic menu with exceptional service and quality.
The first thing one might notice when entering the shop is the clean and bright aesthetic. It has an elegance, utilizing a limited color scheme of whites and greys with the occasional pop of metallic color from items like the pourover stand, the two-group Slayer, and a small area of Rifle Paper Co. wallpaper.
The second thing one might notice is the warm and cheerful greeting given almost immediately to each customer, often by one of the owners, Will Shurtz, who is the “Coffee & Hospitality dude.” Will formerly owned his own coffee catering business Vagabond Barista before teaming up with his two co-captains of the Methodicrew, Marco Suarez (Design & Marketing) and David Baker (Operations & Management), all three of whom call Greenville home. Experiences abroad at specialty cafes created a longing for something similar at home for the owners; thus, Methodical Coffee was born. From experience, cafes with similar decor have given the impression that more time was spent in designing the space than in training hospitable staff — this is not the case here. The easy smiles and friendly natures of the baristas are quick to dispel any misgivings and breathe fresh life into the idea of Southern hospitality.
Methodical’s menu boasts coffee offerings from across the country, most recently Steadfast Coffee in Nashville, TN, Parlor Coffee in Brooklyn, NY, Huckleberry Roasters in Denver, CO, Ceremony Coffee in Annapolis, MD, and Onyx Coffee Labs in Arkansas. Several to-go drink options are available but customers who opt to stay are served their drinks in gorgeous blue and white porcelain cups (which this author raved about so much at home that his family gave him his very own set for Christmas). Their impressive array of pastries include stroopwafels (a Dutch sweet treat that can be warmed atop your mug) from Rip Van Wafel in San Francisco, donuts from Circa Donuts in Greenville, macaroons from Danny Macaroons in Brooklyn, and an assortment of other baked goods from Desserterie Greenville in — you guessed it — Greenville. Their chai is micro-brewed in Denver by Sophisticate’s Tea (and is also one of Methodical’s only decaffeinated drinks).
While the beverages are delicious, the people are the real treats. Conversation flows freely and easily here, and the baristas are happy to direct you to their favorite restaurants or shops, which can be a real help when a husband plans a weekend visit but forgets to plan for things to do (hypothetically speaking). Methodical recently celebrated its first birthday, but not necessarily in a way that you might expect. Instead of receiving gifts, the company hosted its first latte art throwdown to celebrate the growing coffee community in surrounding cities. It then invited the public to visit the following Saturday and “pay what you want” for anything in the shop (drinks, pastries, shirts, and coffee tasting note-themed candles included), with all profits going to GOAT, a nonprofit seeking to serve and equip at-risk youth. If you’re beginning to feel a bit guilty about your own birthday soirees right about now, you’re not alone.
Ultimately, says Marco, Methodical exists to pursue excellence in providing an experience that makes a customer’s day a little better. “It sounds silly,” he told us, “but we’ve seen it and experienced it and want to continue to grow it. We want people to know how much they’re valued by how well they’re treated.” With big dreams giving rise to big plans for the future, we’re looking forward to seeing what Methodical does next.
About Alex Jacobs
Cafe Review: Methodical Coffee in Greenville, SC was first posted by Guest on The Coffee Compass, The Coffee Compass - Your Guide for Craft Coffee
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