Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Fournier
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My husband and I moved here last summer from Austin, Texas, where we had lived and raised our three sons since 2009. Despite being a lawyer for most of my adult life, my hospitality dreams dated back to growing up in New Orleans and working in hotels and restaurants. I earned my B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Boston University prior to going to Tulane Law School. In 2019, I left the practice of law, and returned to my first passion – hospitality. In Austin, I had a small catering/event planning company specializing in farm to table and allergy friendly fare – called Emily’s Table. Chef Emily Maddy was my favorite chef to work with in Austin, and when I decided to move to Greenville and to make my life long dream a reality, I asked Chef Maddy to become my business partner and move to Greenville. Chef Maddy joined me last fall, and we have been working on opening two concepts over the course of the next three years. Our debut property will be a gourmet bodega/corner store called the pantry by emily’s table. The pantry will specialize in lunch food, grab and go items, beer and wine, coffee/espresso, and dairy/non dairy soft serve. We will also sell all things for the “table” and sundry items local residents and tourists may need quickly. Our full service restaurant and bar, Emily’s Table, should take form in 2026 and will hopefully open by 2027.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Chef Maddy and I have perfected the art of pivoting. As our visions and dreams took form, we realized that the original building intended for emily’s table was too small to house all of our visions. We took our dreams down the street a few blocks and began working on three concepts. One concept was a rooftop event space. The first challenge we faced was learning how to work with the City and meet all of Greenville’s requirements. The City is as beautiful and as thriving as it is in large part due to the obstacles that we had to overcome. At the end of the day, we are grateful that the City keeps such a close watch on the development of Main Street, but we definitely had to learn the step by step approach to obtaining approval. Our engineers gave us our second obstacle when we learned that our 100 year old building was not structurally able to hold the kitchen and HVAC equipment we would need without reinforcing the structure from within on all three floors. Then they through us a third loop, when they told us our building could not pass the seismic testing with that revised weight load. In an attempt to get at least one concept opened quickly, we reimagined the pantry and developed a kitchen and menu that the building could support now. We then had to cancel our rooftop concept and develop our second floor into an operations type concept with offices, storage, and employee break room. Our final obstacle has set our opening date back from October of 2024 to winter/spring 2025. We are currently learning the art of patience and perfecting the concept of “measure twice, cut once.”
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am the owner + operator of Emily’s LLC, the parent corporation to the pantry by emily’s table llc and emily’s table llc. In Austin we really locked into the gluten free and allergy community and became known for our versatile and crowd pleasing, allergy friendly fare. We focused on fresh local produce and made yummy and satisfying dishes that even the hardest to feed were able to enjoy. Our favorite accomplishment in Austin was an entire wedding that was gluten and dairy free. The gluten and dairy eating guests had no clue, and the bride could enjoy the entire menu. We plan to bring this versatility to Greenville and to partner with many local farmers, artisans, and suppliers. Our goal is to have everyone at a table be able enjoy the same foods while we adapt to each individual in the kitchen. Our table should feel like your table each time. In addition we are really looking forward to joining and promoting our new community.
How do you think about luck?
We have said from the beginning that God has a plan for us, and He continues to put the right people and right places in front of us. We have just had to open our eyes and ears to hear God’s whispers as He tells us His plans. Whether you call it luck or divine intervention, we know that we are not driving this bus.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emilysgvl.com/
- Instagram: thepantryGVL
- Facebook: emilystableGVL
- Other: https://emilysgvl.com/emilystable/
