Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Walters.
Hi caroline, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My sister, Kaitlyn, and I grew up around Pelzer – passing by what is now our coffee shop almost daily. It was one of the few buildings left that existed during the abundance of Pelzer’s Mill Town. It had been abandoned after a prolific life as a drug store, mortuary, a masonic lodge, a barber shop, and more. We wanted to honor the legacy of the building by tediously restoring it.
We grew up in a huge family, so cooking for large groups and hosting crowds is in our genes. The younger of the Walters sisters, Calle, started her career in coffee over a decade ago – working at a newly opened coffee shop, The Village Grind in the Village of West Greenville. She has been active in the Greenville coffee community ever since, working at several well known shops since then. Kaitlyn started her love for cooking and baking at a very young age and pushed us to share our joined experience with the public. Her background in art shows through her creativity in new recipes. The sisters became dedicated to creating the best food, drinks, and space they possibly can through Cryptid Coffee. The rest is history.
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?
I don’t think opening any small business can be a smooth road, but it’s definitely been rewarding.
We purchased the building in 2021, but it was a long road to restore it. Since the building was the frierson’s drug store, it was on the historic registry which means we had more requirements to get it to historic standards. We kept the plaster walls, found another local mill that has Florentine glass that matched the original panes, and spent a month carefully pulling up 100 year old flooring from the piedmont YWCA to re-lay on the first floor of the shop.
I feel like opening as been a smooth transition. The town of Pelzer has been very welcoming and we’ve already got our regulars that come in almost daily. We’ve only hired family, but we all get along so well that I think it’s made opening so much easier. Any time Kaitlyn and I feel overwhelmed, our cousins are there to lend a helping hand.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When we first came up with the idea of Cryptid Coffee, we wanted to focus on supporting local, or small business as much as we could. We only use small scale roasters, and local milk for our coffee, along with making our syrups in house. When we open our kitchen, we will be working with local farms and one day to grow our own veggies and herbs.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
It’s hard to pick one. Family has always been important to my parents, so we spent a lot of time around our cousins, having sleep overs, tea parties or hiking through our backyard.
My parents also love to travel and wanted to make sure we did too. Every year my 3 sibling and I would load up in our camper van and visit my dad’s family in Minnesota. As kids being raised in the south, we hardly saw snow, so the first Christmas with real snow will always be a special memory for me. My brothers and I spent 2 days building an igloo in my grandma’s front yard to get the full Minnesota experience. Summers in Minnesota usually consisted of swimming in the town’s community pool and riding bikes through the town.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cryptidcoffee.co/
- Instagram: drink_cryptidcoffee
