Bringing like-minded people together has resulted in at least eight marriages and some lasting friend groups, according to Mary Walsh, co-owner of Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery in Greenville, South Carolina.
Walsh, who opened the store in fall 2011 with co-owner Jacqueline “Jac” Oliver, said, “When you build a place where people will interact with each other … magical stuff like that just kind of happens.”
Neighbors run into each other often to get caught up, and moms who bring their kids to the store’s play area have formed lasting friendships, she said.
Walsh and Oliver became friends when they worked together at an environmental nonprofit in Greenville. Originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, Walsh, a civil engineer, was accustomed to not needing a car, and she missed not being able to walk or bike everywhere when she moved south in 2006. But she also discovered the taste of a freshly picked strawberry, which she had not experienced in New Jersey…