Maybe you’ve heard that we’re at work on a third location. That, sometime later this year we will open the doors (so to speak) of our storefront at Greenville’s new market-style retail hub, The Commons. That it will be unlike anything Greenville has seen yet.
Maybe you’re a little curious about what it will look and feel like–what kind of seating will there be, will the menu be different, how is the space designed, can you get a Tres Leches there? It’s only natural to be curious, after all.
Maybe I’m going to tell you about it right now.
A few days ago, I caught up with Methodical owner and designer Marco Suarez at the build site to see how things are shaking out and asking him some questions about the Methodical space.
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This is a market-style space–much like 7th St Market in Charlotte or, on a smaller scale, like Ponce City Market in Atlanta. Open, with all the vendors sharing common space. Are the design concepts the same for each vendor?
Everyone is designing their own space, but the development has an interior designer who’s been making sure that everything feels cohesive. For us, we are going for an Italian cafe-inspired space–richer colors, more contrast, the arches… I wanted every square inch of our portion to be designed thoughtfully. We’ve picked out these amazing Old World-style tiles for the back wall, we have both black leathered granite and carrara marble bar tops, inside the arches we’ll have a hand-painted mural. The design of Methodical’s storefront will make sense with everything else in here, but it will also stand alone.
With consideration to the shared space, what will seating be like in here?
Most places will have their own seating. There will be long communal tables through these long open halls for everyone to share. We’ll have seating along our bar, a banquette along the side wall, and some two-top tables. There will be a good mix of individual seating, communal seating, and outdoor seating.
What will the menu be like? Perhaps more of a food focus?
This shop is more of a restaurant than any of our other shops. We’ll have a full kitchen with a made to order menu. At our other locations, there’s still attention paid to the food, but everything is pre-made. You’ll be able to get made to order food here that you won’t be able to get in our other cafes. Our chef, Sydney Taylor is planning a seasonal, locally sourced menu inspired by classically prepared European dishes. One thing that will set our food menu apart are the hearty, savory vegetarian options. We’re currently in that menu planning phase and it’s really exciting.
That *is* exciting. I would literally eat anything that Sydney made. The food is going to be amazing. I imagine the coffee menu will be similarly exciting?
Yes! We will have an espresso-focused coffee menu, with extra care and attention paid to our batch offerings. There’s a space just for batch coffee prep in the back–a Fetco, a special area for cold brew production. There will be teas and signature drinks and milkshakes, and other cold beverages for people coming off the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
The coffee at The Commons location will be the closest to the source, too, with the roastery moving into the space as well. How will having the roastery there impact the customer’s experience?
We want to be able to bridge the gap between our customers and our operations, to let them see behind the curtain and have more involvement. We have always wanted to have consistent classes and public cuppings. We will finally be able to address these goals. A big glass wall will allow customers to see into the roasting space, and there will be a big garage door that they roasters can open to let the air and light in. When you are hanging out, you can see right into the roasting facility. There will be a cupping table, a fully equipped training space not only for our baristas but for our wholesale accounts and the public, too.
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Thank you Marco!
We’ll be updating this space as well as our Instagram as we make progress with The Commons. Stay tuned!
Written by Angie Thompson
