GREENVILLE — A cafe and market focusing on local items has opened on downtown’s north end at the Hyatt Regency hotel.
Meeting Grounds serves Counter Culture Coffee, drinks, pastries and fresh sandwiches from its shop on NOMA Square, which overlooks North Main Street. It’s open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A grab-and-go section provides drinks and prepared foods for outings like picnics at the city’s parks. Meeting Grounds also hawks snacks and items from across the Carolinas and Georgia, such as French Broad Chocolate from Asheville. Customers place orders at self-serve kiosks.
The cafe and market replaces a Starbucks franchise that was owned by Auro Hotels, the company behind the Hyatt Regency. Auro owns Meeting Grounds.
“Meeting Grounds is more than exceptional drinks and fresh, chef-crafted food — it’s about creating a place where people naturally want to gather, whether that’s lingering over a morning cappuccino in the café or picking up the perfect provisions for an afternoon in Falls Park,” Brian Crowne, Auro Hotels’ food and beverage director, said in a news release.
Starbucks first opened at the Hyatt Regency downtown in 2014, when it signed an agreement with JHM Hotels.
At the time, the hotel at NOMA Square was owned by JHM Hotels, which split into four companies in 2017. The Hyatt is now owned by Auro Hotels.