A popular Upstate coffee shop has opened its first Columbia cafe. Here’s where
Something new is officially brewing in Columbia’s BullStreet District.
Methodical Coffee, which has gained popularity in the last decade in the Greenville area, has opened a new cafe at 2149 Pickens St. at the BullStreet development. The coffee shop is located on the northeast corner of the ground floor of the WestLawn office building.
The new cafe formally debuted on Monday, though Methodical co-founder and CEO Marco Suarez noted it is in a soft opening phase. The bakery portion of the shop is not yet operating, but the shop is offering a full menu of drinks including filter and pour-over style coffee, cold brews, espresso, cappuccino, Americano, various teas and more.
Methodical started in Greenville in 2015, and the company has three locations in the Upstate area, as well as a coffee roasting and operations facility in Travelers Rest.
Suarez said there is a mix of excitement and relief in getting the doors open at BullStreet’s Methodical. The project has been in the works for a couple of years, and was initially announced to the public in April 2024.
“This one has been a very longtime coming,” Suarez told The State. “The moment I’ve been working toward for two years is to be able to walk in, the space is completely set up, everything is in its right place, the sound of the coffee grinders is going, you hear the chatter of people. ... I was very, very happy [on Monday] to experience that.”
Suarez noted that he has long been familiar with Hughes Development — the master developer of the overall project at the sprawling 181-acre site on Bull Street — and its president, Robert Hughes. He noted that Hughes was Methodical’s landlord at its first shop in Greenville a decade ago.
The Methodical CEO noted that, through the years, Hughes would make overtures about the possibility of the coffee shop having a location at BullStreet. Roughly two years ago, those talks got more serious. When Suarez and the Methodical crew came and visited the burgeoning BullStreet site shortly thereafter, they began to see the possibility of how a Columbia outpost could become a reality.
“The thing that really got me was how much it reminded me of Greenville back when we first opened,” Suarez said. “The city was just on this trajectory of growth, with tons of new retail and developments improving the standard of life for the people of the city. And in Columbia it felt that way, too. In Columbia there is all this new development and new things happening. We want to be a part of it.”
Methodical has debuted in a portion of the BullStreet District that will soon be a serious food and drink hub. It is right next door to the under-development Gather COLA food hall, which is planning to open later this year and will bring 10 food vendors, two bars and retail spaces to the district. And, just to the east of the coffee shop, a large community lawn space and venue is under construction which is set to include a Coastal Crust pizza shop.
While there is lots of construction currently going on adjacent to the new Methodical, Suarez said, once completed, the immediate area will be a great spot for food, entertainment and mingling.
“There will be retail, a lot of food, and it will kind of be the center area [of the district] where people will come congregate and meet,” he said. “I think it will be mutually beneficial for all of those tenants that will be right there. And it will have nice amenities.”
