A desire to do things differently…
The idea for smallSUGAR arose from a desire to serve great food and coffee, offer livable wages, and support local farmers and producers. Located in the Vista neighborhood in downtown Columbia, SC, smallSUGAR sits in the heart of South Carolina’s capital city. Within walking distance to the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina State Capital, and the Congaree River, smallSUGAR has become a staple in Columbia’s dining scene over the last few years, despite having no street presence and no parking.
smallSUGAR was CITY GRIT Hospitality Group’s first foray into building a restaurant model that skewed standard compensation practices and went 100% no gratuity. All team members are paid consistent and livable wages, with full time, salaried employees having their weekly work schedule capped at 45hrs/week in order provide a more healthy work/life balance. Team members aren’t “cut” on slow days to help keep their income consistent.
Along with focusing on consistent, fair compensation for our team we looked at how we could support local farmers, producers, and artisans. Along with the standard local produce and flour, we partnered with Counter Culture Coffee (Raleigh, NC) and Charleston Tea Company (Charleston, SC) for our coffee and tea offerings.
The desire to support our local economy even extends to the companies we use for repairs, plumbing, and electrical work.
smallSUGAR is a modern counter-service restaurant that strives bring an elevated level of service to a counter-service environment. Guests order at the counter and are given a standard table marker. Where smallSUGAR differs from many counter-service restaurants is with the steps of service that follow the counter exchange. A member of the smallSUGAR team will then bring each table their flatware, cups, and water - allowing them to touch each table and interact with each guest. Food and drinks are then taken to the table, eschewing a standard “auction-style” announcement or paging system, giving our team another opportunity to interact with a table and make sure the guest has everything they need.
When guests are done eating they are not asked to bus their own table or clean up their own space, as a member of the smallSUGAR team will bus, clean, and reset each table. The style of service is meant to be casual but also provide some of the touches of a full-service restaurant. It also provides us with an opportunity to train our team on service concepts and methods not typically taught in counter-service restaurants, allowing them to move up to one of our full-service concepts in the future.
smallSUGAR has since become regarded as one of Columbia’s best restaurants/coffee shops, with multiple mentions and write-ups in Southern Living, Eater, The State, and The Post & Courier.