The Johnsonian

A new caffeine source is coming near campus. Caffino, a Californian coffee company, has made its debut in Rock Hill and is set to have construction for its next location started next door to Winthrop within the next month.

            The Church's Chicken lot, which has been sitting vacant, was purchased by Caffino franchise owner Pat Swisher. He plans on converting the existing building into a coffee shop where people can drive-through or sit in.

"I would like to say I am a mastermind and I put this whole plan together, but the truth is that on my way home from our store I saw the sign that it was for sale, and I thought to myself 'Wow that is a great location for a coffee concept,'" Swisher said. "I can't believe that Starbucks hadn't jumped all over it."

Swisher, a businessman from Charlotte, bought the franchise rights to Caffino stores east of the Mississippi and opened his first location in Rock Hill on the corner of Herlong and Ebenezer Avenues in February.

Caffino stores are typically only drive-through and the location near Winthrop will be the first one to break away from that tradition.

"This is going to be a new adventure for Caffino," Swisher said.

Swisher plans on doing major renovations to the current Church's Chicken building.

"You won't recognize it when we're done with it," he said.  "We want people to recognize our brand, and it will resemble a Caffino."

Plans for the new shop include a fireplace, an expresso bar and a patio. Swisher hopes that Caffino's reputation for quality and quick service will set it apart from other coffee shops in town. Caffino is known for roasting its beans "one pound at a time." The beans are shipped green and roasted on site to ensure freshness.

"We feel like our product speaks for itself – that we have the best product in the marketplace," Swisher said.

Java City supervisor Pat Williams said she is not concerned about the new company moving in on her territory. Coffee products are not all the same she said.

"It's all caffeine and coffee drinks, but we make some of our drinks different than theirs," Williams said.

She also said that the ability to use Cafe Cash will keep many students coming to Java City.

Junior business administration major, Jenny Wilson usually goes to Starbucks to get her coffee. She said there is definitely room for another coffee store in town. 

"If we had one that was closer it would be more apt to catch college students," she said.

It is Swisher's hope that he will be able to draw on the Winthrop market.

"We're going to try to incorporate some of the historical history of Winthrop in our architecture – pictures and memorabilia," he said. "We want our students to understand that this is a local operation, that we appreciate the business from Winthrop and the students that come from Winthrop, and we want it to be a friendly environment."

 "We're going to have Wi-Fi so students can hook up their computers and do their homework and hang out with us," he said. "We're looking forward to it."

Rebecca Masters, assistant to the president for public affairs said that as Winthrop and the City of Rock Hill have tried to broaden the "college town" feel around campus, more businesses have been attracted.

"For many decades, Winthrop was a single-gender institution that operated in a somewhat cloistered way," she said. "In those years, private enterprise didn't see Winthrop as a market for investment, but that's been changing over time, and the new businesses that are starting up across from campus are a part of that evolution."

Article Tools