A proposed new-to-Greenville coffee and donut shop, Cafe Racer Coffee + Donuts, may soon makes its way to the corner of Butler Avenue and Buncombe Street near the Hampton-Pinckney neighborhood.
The business made the presentation during Feb. 3 Project Preview Meeting, a city meeting allowing the public to provide feedback on upcoming projects before they go before the city’s boards, commissions and council.
The meeting took place at the Prisma Health Welcome Center in The Commons, inside Unity Park.
Racer Cafe serves breakfast items and coffees along with burgers, fried chicken and soft serve ice cream. Co-owner Brad Galland was present at the meeting.
The business is currently under contract to purchase the three-acre property at 309 Butler Ave., and 601 and 615 Buncombe St., on the north side of downtown. The plans showed a 4,325-square-foot space for the restaurant in the middle lot.
There is one Cafe Racer in operation in Athens, Georgia, with plans to open a second. Galland said Greenville was chosen as a point of expansion because of its proximity to Athens and for personal reasons.
“Selfishly and personally, I’ve been coming up to Greenville for a whole lot of years,” he said. “I’ve had family and friends that have lived here for a very long time, and … quite frankly, I mean, it’s pretty remarkable,” he said.
Once the sale of the property is complete, the business will apply for rezoning from site’s existing designation as PD (Planned Development) to MX-2 (Mixed Use 2). It will also apply for a special exception to operate an accessory drive-thru.
