LG’s by the Creek owner Laura Gresham has had a lifetime of food and beverage experience and always dreamed of opening a coffee shop, so when the opportunity to debut a neighborhood shop and happy hour hangout in a new Hanahan apartment complex came about, she was all in. Gresham named the spot Brew Coffee, Wine and Craft Beer, and hired Krista Magno and Jess Crain to manage the store before opening the doors April 8.
“I moved here from New York and worked at Starbucks for a few years. I got all my background in coffee there,” said Magno, whose husband constructed the coffee shop. “Jess ran a coffee shop for a while and has a lot of background in food and bev. All of our experience really works out, so us as a team is really great.”
Brew’s soft opening was April 8, followed by its grand opening April 13. And the grand opening was kicked up a notch when Magno noticed a post in the local Facebook group, “Lowcountry Eat Out,” where people were asking where they could find coffee flights. Realizing she could engage customers by adding flights, Magno jumped at the opportunity to get the word out about Brew.
“Doing that on the day of the grand opening sounded like a bit of a nightmare, but I’m so glad we did it,” she said.
Photos of Brew’s coffee flights quickly went viral; so much so that they had to limit serving the flights. “We had to hire more staff just to keep up with it,” Magno said. “We will continue to do them 2-4 p.m. until we get situated a little bit more, and then we will open up that window.”
Brew’s coffee flight is made up of four, 4-ounce pours of different flavors that they have set for the day. When the City Paper spoke with Magno, Brew’s current flavors were mocha, latte, cold brew and caramel macchiato.
“People really seem to love the caramel macchiatos. I feel like that’s probably our most sold espresso drink. Whether it’s hot or cold, people love it,” she said.
In addition to its coffee flights, Brew caters to the neighborhood happy hour crowd with wine and beer flights.
“It’s not like you’re walking into a bar; it’s more laid back and relaxed,” Magno said. “We have outdoor seating and people come and hang outside with their dogs. We have treats and water bowls for them out there.”
Brew even serves mimosa flights for the brunch crowd. “People really just love the flights,” Magno said. “The mimosa flights are huge. We are constantly bringing in cases of champagne for that … Our signature mimosa is flavored with hibiscus, and it has an edible hibiscus flower at the bottom of the glass. Everybody loves that and they will order it on its own.”
To go along with its numerous drink options, Brew serves grab-and-go salads that are created daily, pastries from Saffron Bakery, fruit cups, parfaits and bagels. Since Magno is a native New Yorker, she has their bagels mailed overnight from Long Island for that authentic deli taste. They also offer a few sandwiches and dessert items.
“I think this is a gap that needed to be filled,” Magno said. “People in the neighborhood and beyond are just so happy that we are here — there is nothing like it in Hanahan. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights are really hopping … I know a lot of people that walk through the door and a bunch of them are from Hanahan, but we’ve also had people come from as far as Myrtle Beach, Georgia and Tennessee just for the coffee flights.”
Brew is currently open 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 6 a.m.-10 p.m.Thursday and Friday; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; and 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. The shop offers indoor and outdoor seating as well as a drive-thru window.
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