20 April 2022
[Editor’s Note: In this occasional series, a local food and beverage worker recommends a favorite restaurant and shares a meal with Free Times.]Unlike most college students, Greg Slattery didn’t drink plenty of coffee. It wasn’t till after he graduated, during a coffee tasting day in Athens, Georgia, which he found his love for your drink. “At a cupping (coffee tasting), you can’t include cream and sugar… plus I’m like, ‘What feel I going to do? ‘ I can’t add cream plus sugar, but I want to make an impression on her, you know? And I required a sip and it had been so good, ” Slattery stated. His love for espresso, and for the woman he has been sharing coffee with, might later allow him to open upward his own coffee shop. Now, Slattery co-owns the unique coffee shop inside an old garage, Curiosity Espresso, on Columbia‘s North Major Street. Slattery and his companion, Sandra Moscato, have managed the coffee shop for almost 5 years. “(It’s) evolved from such a fast pace exactly where like, the first year i was just a small corner of the building. And after a year, we all got the opportunity to take over that will whole space and extend and build the phase and have events and it had not been expected… It was kind of drive upon us and jooxie is like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this, ‘” Moscato stated.
Food & Drink
The particular coffee shop has been many things through the entire pair’s time on Northern Main. What started like a small corner of the garage area eventually became the whole area with live shows and different activities. When the pandemic hit at the begining of 2020, the shop grew to become a bit of a bodega when Moscato and Slattery pivoted in order to selling groceries in an region that was missing an obtainable grocery store during the pandemic. Their own space is host in order to events like trivia evenings and live music.
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Slattery, who’s originally from Sc, worked in the music market before starting Curiosity and has introduced those connections to the restaurant. You’ll also find local music artists on the store’s playlist. Slattery joked about how sometimes actively playing local music can lead to fascinating moments in the coffee shop. Marshall Brown, whose album capped the Free Times’ most of SC music for 2021, is an artist you’ll understand if you frequent Curiosity sufficient. Slattery said that one of Brown’s songs, “State of Alarm”, features an alarm clock heading off for a minute directly. “Occasionally we’ll be like disorderly, busy and like We have known Marshall a really very long time so I’ll know, just like a song will come on plus I’ll be like, ‘Oh simply no, ‘ like I can’t change it out, I can’t fast-forward because we’re going put the whole album upon shuffle, can’t do everything to fix it. I am literally sizzling milk and making beverages and it’ll be like an noisy alarms just going off, inch Slattery said.
Nibbles & Sips
The Free Instances spoke with the pair in order to mark their half-decade with Curiosity over a meal with West Columbia’s Black Rooster. As the two reflected on the time at the coffee shop, Slattery ordered the Nashville Popular Chicken Sandwich, which this individual referred to as Chef Alex Strickland’s homage to Nashville eating place Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. Moscato enjoyed the restaurant’s Bun Thit Nuong, the colorful stir-fried noodle meal while I munched within the hearty lamb and meat meatloaf. The couple lately purchased their spot right after renting it prior. Buying the spot brought a sense of alleviation to the couple, who stated watching the growth upon Main Street is each exciting but at times an origin of anxiety. “My worry is with every city, you might have the artists that develop downtown areas, and then what goes on is that you get all the idol box places, and people personal buildings, and I understand, you understand, you’re trying to make some revenue, and you start reaching out to these types of big corporations, and then that actually just makes a city dreary. And I really hope which happen in Columbia, inch Moscato said. Their cafe sits on North Primary Street — an area which has grown consistently in the last couple of years, with spots like Rambo’s Fat Cat Biscuits plus NoMa Warehouse joining the particular scene in the last two years, whilst established spots like Al-Amir on Main and Vino Garage continue to grow. With a new locally-owned grocery store along with a brewery coming to the area within the next few months, the growth is not going to appear to be slowing down. The two are usually cognizant of the notion that will Columbia’s North Main Road district is becoming more gentrified and pushing out the longtime residents. To that stage, the two have tried to become intentional with hosting activities that feature local performers and community members. “Having a community where talking will be involved and art plus connecting people. That, in my experience, is just like a beautiful thing also it makes the hard moments simpler, ” Slattery said.