This new coffee house could bring fresh life to a former Fort Mill restaurant site
Decades ago, the building was one of the few places in Fort Mill where locals could go out for dinner. Now it will be a place where Fort Mill can come together for a cup of coffee.
Humble Cup Coffee Co. has signed a lease to open at 414 Tom Hall St.
It’s the former Ocean Palace site that for many years offered hibachi and buffet meals, but has been vacant for some time. Humble Cup should open there by the end of fall or start of winter, and be open in time for the holiday season.
“This new location was the perfect setup for us,” said Nick Conforti, who along with his wife, Ashley, began Humble Cup in 2019. “We drove past the building every week over the past three years and knew it had potential. Then the ‘for lease’ sign came up, and two years later, we signed the lease.”
Humble Cup began when the couple started roasting coffee in the garage as a hobby, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hobby grew to a small folding table at the town farmers market, then a small mobile coffee cart. It grew into a complete mobile coffee shop operating out of a converted horse trailer.
“Our new space will provide a community coffee shop that was built by the community and for the community,” Nick Conforti said. “Our brand grew three years ago at the local farmers market and with the help and support from the community, we have now had this opportunity to open up a store.”
The new store will offer familiar items for customers who met Humble Cup at the farmers market.
“Everything from freshly roasted coffee, lattes, cold brew, chia teas, and seasonal drinks,” Conforti said. “We will now be adding to our menu kombuchas as well as local pastries, which has been heavily anticipated as we currently don’t sell pastries.”
In-house community events will be planned.
In 2020 Humble Cup started donating a dollar from each bag of coffee sold to local charities. The company wants to partner in local fundraiser opportunities. Fort Mill is where the company started and grew, and the community that still feels like home.
“What made us want to plant our roots in Fort Mill is the people,” Conforti said. “Being a part of the farmers market for the past three years we have met so many amazing people. It has been so fun to watch many other small businesses grow as well.”
While Ocean Palace is a memory for long-time Fort Mill residents that harkens to a time of fewer people and fewer food options, growth has come on both fronts.
Fort Mill annually ranks among the fastest growing areas in South Carolina, and in the region. Now, the nearby downtown area has half a dozen food spots on Main Street and about as many just above it on Clebourne, Springs or Tom Hall streets. Just across the street from the new Humble Cup site is Steele Street Station with a brewery, pizza restaurant and plans for another new restaurant.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 7:56 AM.
