Community. Local. Mission. Food Hub. Heart. Soul. Stecca.
Those are just a few of the words that were uttered numerous times at Endeavor’s most recent Collaborators & Cocktails speaker series, featuring Greenville’s beloved Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery founders and co-owners, Mary Walsh and Jac Oliver.
The two friends, who met while in previous professional roles at Upstate Forever and bonded over their “love for local,” started the café and grocery in 2011 with just their hands, an abandoned 1200 sq. ft. building on Cedar Lane Rd., husbands and some good friends who jumped in as things ramped up quickly, and a whole lot of heart.
Fast forward to today, and the duo employ 150 associates, buy from over 300 local farmers and food makers, and connect people not only with where their food comes from, but also connect people around food.
So how did they do it? The secret is all in their mission, their people and their partnership.
Read on for their answers to questions posed at Endeavor’s Collaborators & Cocktails event.
Q&A with Mary & Jac
Q: Introduce us to the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery of 2024.
Although we’ve continuously expanded each year we’ve been in business, our mission has always remained the same. We are here to buy, sell, and cook with as much local food as possible, and to support a sustainable food system that allows small, local farmers to thrive. So in every decision we make, we try to get local first, or organic or naturally grown so that we can have some traceability to how our food is grown. Being connected to how our food got to you is key to our mission.
Q: You started with the grocery store, and now have a cafe, how did it grow?
We opened in 2011 with a 16,000 sq ft abandoned building. We set it set up for groceries and deliveries. We didn’t even think we were going to hire people. Then our first customer came in and was like, “do you make sandwiches?” and we were like, “yea!” (Mary’s husband just started making sandwiches.) We didn’t even have a sign. Because we were on the trail, we just had a pile of bikes outside and I guess that notified people that we were open.
Every year since then, we kept expanding. We opened the produce room and then the kitchen for baking and then took over the bike shop which we converted into a coffee bar this summer. And we recently bought a warehouse.
Q: What was your biggest fear opening the store and did it ever go away?
My biggest fear was that no one would come, and even now when someone buys a scone, I’m like, “oh, I hope they like it.” Like right now, we made a lot of food for Thanksgiving and bought a lot for Christmas, and is anyone going to come and buy it? Or if it rains for the next 4 weekends, what does that mean? We always have that. (Mary)
I didn’t think we were going to succeed, but I didn’t think we were going to fail, so I don’t know what I was thinking. (Jac)
Q: What are some of your favorite things about the way you operate?
Our customers rave about our staff because they really are pleasant. We go to work every day and our cashier says, “today’s my last day,” and he’s joking. It is a fun family community and the work we do is really fulfilling. We get to be creative in a lot of the ways we do things because we’re not a chain. And sometimes change can be stressful but like today it was raining, and that freedom of being creative allowed us to choose what we wanted to do… so we reorganized the fridges.
Q: What should someone look for when choosing a business partner?
The advice we got was never get a partner, but clearly, it’s worked out okay after 15 years. It’s like a marriage. We have to work together in stressful situations. When we disagree, we’ve learned to listen for the statement “I feel really strongly” from the other person as an indicator of when to compromise.
Q: How are you at delegating?
I think it’s hard for any business owner because very few people are going to notice what you notice and care as much as you care. But we look for what I call our “forever chemicals” which are people who work for us who we never want to leave, and we are accumulating a solid core of those people. They care like an owner and sometimes they care so much, I worry about them. The more people we accumulate like that, the more I can go visit family and not worry about the store because I know our “forever chemicals” have our back. It’s easier to delegate to them.
Q: What can you share about your story that can translate to other situations?
Reminding people the impact we have on customers and our vendors, and modeling hard work and the values of community and environment.
Join Endeavor for their next Collaborators & Cocktails event on Thursday, January 23, 2025 featuring the entrepreneur duo that launched 6AM City (GVLtoday‘s parent company), CEO Ryan Johnston and COO Ryan Heafy. E-mail [email protected] for tickets.
