Spencer Donovan covers the city of Greenville for The Post and Courier. You can find him on walks around Greenville, eating at local restaurants and hiking in the mountains.
GREENVILLE -- The downtown outpost of the popular Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery has announced it will close six months after it opened, with the effects of Hurricane Helene cited as the catalyst.
Swamp Mart -- a mini market selling pastries, drinks and sandwiches -- opened in April in the Wells Fargo building with the intent to be a permanent fixture on the downtown scene.
But it closed after the hurricane tore through South Carolina, knocking out power to millions and inundating the Reedy River where the cafe situated along its banks and the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Owners announced Oct. 17 the Swamp Mart will close permanently as the store continues to work with partners to coordinate relief efforts and work with vendors hurt by the storm "to make sure we're doing everything within our power to help make them successful."
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A post shared by Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery (@swamprabbitcafe)
"We are playing catch up with our supply chain and our kitchen prep, and when you source from over 420 local vendors, this is no easy task," the store wrote on Instagram. "It may not be apparent from the outside but behind the scenes we are still catching up and working hard to celebrate good food and the people that make it."
The news comes after the market's main location had a tumultuous recovery from the hurricane, after which its generators were stolen. It sources many products from vendors in Western North Carolina, which was decimated by the storm. One of its vendor's buildings was leveled.
The Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery, which opened in 2011 northwest of downtown Greenville, opened its mini mart downtown with the aim of reaching office workers and tourists.
The cafe's main location was a pioneering business along the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which now sees more than 2 million users each year. The cafe's owners intended for the Swamp Mart to be a permanent fixture in the downtown scene.
It opened in the Wells Fargo office tower, which will undergo a name change when Wells Fargo closes its location there Nov. 6.
"To all our Swamp Mart customers - we learned, we loved, and we will sure miss you!" the post said. "Hopefully it isn't goodbye forever, but just a smell ya later. And you can still always come pay us a visit at our main location by the trail!"
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