The trademarked slogan of state tourism since 1997 is drawing an increasingly diverse demographic
A new wave of business owners has found the Upstate—some for the second time—and put down roots.
They’re purposefully establishing businesses in the Greenville area instead of other viable options. Their reasons are similar: immediate community support, Greenvillians’ friendliness, lower overall costs, and the picturesque surroundings from Paris Mountain to the Liberty Bridge.
And the fact that many of these businesses are creative is as Southern as Greenville’s formerly booming textile industry. “The South has a rich history of making physical goods. There’s an innate need that we have to make things with our hands,” says Jamie Nadeau, half of the Ink Meets Paper ownership.
Nashville natives Jamie and her wife, Allison, moved their popular Charleston-based printing company to Greenville in May 2022. Years of participating in the Indie Craft Parade served as more than an introduction to the area, and when their lease expired in the Lowcountry, they knew the next step.
Allison says they were ready to move to a welcoming area with more emphasis on livability than tourism. “We took notice of the queer community and the visibility here,” Jamie adds, saying that the Upstate SC LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce was another factor in their choice. They’ve found the maker community and new customers equally welcoming and supportive.
Hillcrest High School 2001 graduates Jen and Chris Lake returned to the area after living in Cincinnati for a decade. After Chris found himself unemployed for the first time in 2020, the couple migrated back to Five Forks to open Roaming Ritual mobile coffee service.
Greenville’s lower cost of living and the concentration of their families were factors. Most of all, the couple’s dream of starting a coffee business and bakery could become a reality here. Neither Lake had ever worked in the service industry, but the community’s support convinced them they are fulfilling a need.
Adriana Green, owner of Esteli skincare, moved to Greenville from Portland, Oregon, in 2021, believing she had something to offer that wasn’t already here. Before the cross-country move, Adriana lived her entire life in large West Coast cities. Even during a rainy day visit to downtown Greenville, she could envision the bustling Falls Park and vibrant Main Street. She wanted that for her growing family.
Change of Plans
Not long after settling in, a birthday party invitation introduced her to a Lowcountry boil, a foreign concept to Bay Area natives. “The Southern style and food are different for me,” she says, explaining the culture shock they experienced. She embraced it, though, just as the maker community and market vendors immediately embraced her and her skincare business.
Adriana acknowledges the hesitation from some long-time Greenvillians over the influx of new residents. But, as she’s heard from others in a similar situation to her own, she offers perspective. “We moved away from those big cities. We don’t want to make [Greenville] what we left,” Adriana says. “The people that move here are wanting to bring the best parts of where they left.”
Alexis Krcelic, owner of basta. bakery and a Powdersville native, found herself drawn back to Greenville. “I moved to Vietnam and had no intention of moving back,” she says. But plans changed, and her lifelong dream became a reality when her signature banana bread became a necessary comfort for a pandemic-weary clientele.
She believes she was able to move from pop-up baker to opening a brick-and-mortar much more easily in Greenville because the market is less competitive than in larger cities, and lease rates are more financially approachable. “It’s very accessible to start a business with all of the pop-ups and farmers’ markets,” she says. “People are willing to do collaborations.”
In an underserved market, Alexis found herself a unifier for those looking for sweets made without animal products or by-products and free of many other common allergens. Her customers returned the favor. “We’ve built such a great community of people that care,” she says.
Community Support Paves the Way
Katie Chaney, co-owner of Hester General Store and an Anderson-area native, graduated from Wofford College and moved to Germany for two years, never planning to return to the Upstate. Following the start-up trail, Katie moved back to the States, met her partner, Layton, in Austin, Texas, and gave birth to her daughter in Portland, Oregon. Being thousands of miles away from family created a desire to be closer to a support system and in a location where, financially and otherwise, Katie believed she could build a legacy.
Through Katie’s former poetry professor at the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and the connections made through the LGBT+ Chamber, they purchased, completely renovated, and reopened the historic Hester General Store. Katie affirms that owning and running a property in the Portland market would have been nearly impossible, but here, the dream became a reality in less than three years. Her efforts have given a piece of Dacusville history new life, and the community, in turn, has embraced Hester General’s foundational message, “Love Your Neighbor,” displayed prominently on the side of the building.
“My queer identity became the question,” Katie says, explaining her initial fears about opening a business. “I always believed we could have a grocery concept that would sell . . . . My own identity was what I was afraid wouldn’t work. The mural went a long way to create that buy-in and ownership. It has a religious tone and message to the community to love us, and that’s what we wanted to give the community.”
Hollowed Earth owners Mark and Sarah Batory moved from Greenville to Milwaukee for Mark to work with a pottery studio. They returned to Greenville armed with enough knowledge to start their own, first out of their home and eventually a full teaching studio and production facility in Hampton Station. Sarah says the community of makers and pottery-curious guests have been so supportive they’ve had to hit the brakes to manage the growth. “People here like to do things and have experiences,” she says. “That’s what makes Greenville really special.”
The class schedules will continue to operate and evolve with customer needs, but on the retail side, they’re moving away from the farmer’s markets and making their mark at festivals and events with custom commemorative pieces.
“Greenville has been so good to us,” Sarah says.
