Brewery, café to open in Greenville’s North Main Street neighborhood

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When Mel Wilcox graduated from Furman University and started working in the beer brewing industry in Denver, he knew it was always in the cards to open a brewery of his own.

Out of drawing from the inspiration of wanderlust for nature and his time in Colorado, the idea of Other Lands was born.

Wilcox and business partner John Moore have plans for Other Lands, which is being marketed as a “neighborhood watering hole,” to be a neighborhood café and brewery, with espresso, natural wine, beer and eats, and is slated to open on 731 Rutherford Road in Greenville in early June. This concept differs from Wilcox’s original concept of a traditional brewery, he said.

They started looking at spaces at the end of 2019, to include different mill-type developments, but then came across the former Parkersway Foods location, which spoke to them as more of the neighborhood vibe they were going for — so they changed the concept to fit this specific location, to have it feel like more than just a brewery and more like a neighborhood coffee shop, said Wilcox.

The name Other Lands was decided on based on Wilcox’s wife finding a Walt Whitman poem, which at the essence of it is a romantic search for a place to call home, he said.

“Greenville is always the place to be ever since I left Furman,” said Wilcox. “We loved Colorado and California (where he got his masters in brewing), but in 2018, I came back to the area for a wedding, and Greenville felt right. Nothing ever topped it, and it hasn’t slowed down at all.”

The goal of this spot is to be more neighborhood-based versus just a destination, said Wilcox. After the former grocer building was left abandoned for a long time, he added, it’ll be a “revival” and gathering space for this North Main Street neighborhood.

“We want everyone to feel welcomed in our space, but people in the neighborhood can bike and walk here and make it feel like their own spot,” said Wilcox.

The architect on the project is Greenville-based David Nocella with Group 1.6 Architects and Shelter Collective out of Asheville is the designer.

They are turning the traditional brewery motif on its head — which is typically masculine, said Wilcox, but they want Other Lands to feel light and airy, more feminine aesthetically with earthy tones, and to have a natural feel to it with a lot of natural light. There will also be a large outdoor garden area and doors that open to that outdoor area.

Wilcox said there are no plans at this time to open additional locations.