Greenville’s specialty coffee scene is getting its own festival, and it’s landing inside one of the city’s most recognizable adaptive-reuse landmarks. The inaugural Greenville Coffee Fest will take over Judson Mill at 701 Easley Bridge Road on February 6, 2027, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with more than 20 local roasters, coffee shops and curated vendors expected to set up shop for the day.
The event is being produced by LiveWell Greenville, a community health nonprofit, according to the Greenville Journal. Founded in 2011, LiveWell Greenville is led by Executive Director Sally Wills and runs several major community wellness initiatives, including the Greenville County Food Security Coalition, per LiveWell Greenville. Proceeds from the coffee festival will support the nonprofit’s broader health equity and food security work across the county.
Kelly Weissmann, LiveWell Greenville’s fund development director and co-director of the Coffee Fest, said the event is meant to spotlight the people behind the city’s coffee culture. She said coffee shops foster social connections and that the festival will celebrate the people who make mornings better, per the same account. Weissmann also said the fundraiser could grow into an annual event that draws visitors to Greenville.
A Mill With a Century of History
The choice of venue is notable in its own right. Judson Mill originally opened in 1912 as a textile manufacturing plant and operated for more than a century before closing in 2015, after which it was redeveloped into an 800,000-square-foot mixed-use complex, according to CREDA. The mill was once among the largest textile operations in Greenville County, and the site now houses apartments, commercial tenants, and multiple event spaces alongside its industrial bones…