Bites Nearby: Loveland Coffee

A new coffee shop has opened in the Irmo area offering coffee lovers a quality and convenient alternative to the coffee brewing chains.

Loveland Coffee located in the Murraywood Centre on St. Andrews Road opened on Dec. 19 thanks to some hard work and the generosity of others.

Loveland said his dream was to open a storefront coffee shop but securing a building is an expensive endeavor. 

While driving in the Ballentine area, Loveland said he saw a kiosk for sale and the dream of owning a coffee shop was jumpstarted.

Last June, the Lovelands started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to get their kiosk up and running. 

Kickstarter is an online resource for people to raise funding for creative projects. 

The Lovelands set a goal of $8,500 and a deadline. By mid-July, more than $9,000 was raised.

"It was a great experience because so many people in the community rallied around us," Beach Loveland said. "People really want to help people that they see every day as oppose to putting money behind some big corporation."

Now, Loveland — a Dutch Fork High graduate (his family moved here from Michigan in 1992) —  is able to offer the Irmo community and surrounding areas lattes, specialty drinks and smoothies at a convenient drive-thru location.

"We have probably the freshest coffee you can get around here," Loveland said. "We have coffee roasted every week so the coffee you're drinking is no more than a week old."

"We can cater to people that are looking for that sweeter type coffee beverage but also we have the more traditional drinks that are more coffee based."

The coffee is roasted locally by Turtle Creek Coffee.

For Loveland, the kiosk is a way to combine his love of coffee and desire to serve people.

"I'm passionate about the artisanship and the craftsmanship that goes into making a good cup of coffee, and then I get to be around people and serve them," he said.  

"To me, that's the perfect combination."

If you want more than a cup, Loveland sells the coffee by the pound. 

For more information on Loveland Coffee, visit their website here.

If you mention that you saw this article on Patch, you can receive 10 percent off your drink!

Suggested drink: Try The Adjustment. It's a latte featuring espresso, cinnamon and vanilla almond milk. Very tasty. You can also try the Mayan Mocha, another latte with chocolate and cinnamon, and just a hint of Ancho Chile. 

Location: Loveland Coffee is located at the Murraywood Centre, 7001 St. Andrews Road, Columbia

Hours of operation: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday (New hours starting next week: 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mon-Fri; 7:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday)

Phone: 803-446-7168

About this column: Bites Nearby features local eateries (food & drinks) in and near Irmo-Seven Oaks.