Couple Uses CDFI Loan to Open Coffee Shop in South Carolina Opportunity Zone
Client: Piecewise Coffee Company
Client Location: Cayce, SC
CDFI: South Carolina Community Loan Fund (SCCLF)
CDFI Service Area: South Carolina
Financing and technical assistance
The City of Cayce is a growing community located in a South Carolina Opportunity Zone, with State Street in Cayce’s River Arts District identified as a focus area for the city’s revitalization efforts. In a recent survey conducted by the city, local residents identified a neighborhood coffee shop as one of their major desires.
Resident buy-in, combined with an analysis of market demand in the area, was the confirmation that Lindsey and Stanton Scoma needed to determine that the area would be the ideal location for their new business, Piecewise Coffee Company (PCC). Having planned to open an independent coffee shop for some time, the Scomas identified a three-storefront building on State Street to house the coffee shop and secured a lease for a 1,100 square foot space.
However, they would need additional funding to renovate the vacant store front and convert it into an operational coffee shop. While the Scomas had strong credit, as a startup they did not have the business experience necessary for a traditional financial institution to approve them for a loan.
The couple consulted with their local small business development center (SBDC) to refine their business plan and were eventually referred to South Carolina Community Loan Fund (SCCLF) for potential financing. SCCLF’s lending team worked with the Scomas to ensure the couple was ready to borrow and subsequently approved them for a $118,459 loan, which closed in January 2019.
After spending the past several months completing renovations, the Scomas are thrilled to announce they officially opened for business on July 8, 2019!
In addition to serving hot and cold beverages, the Scomas are partnered with local restaurant smallSugar, which works hard to intentionally provide customers with local, healthy food. PCC will also provide regular coffee education events for consumers, such as coffee cuppings, as well as local educational lectures, live music, and poetry readings. Further, the business is on track to create and retain 10 jobs for local community members over the next two years.