Q&A with Janelle Starrette of Tidal Grounds Coffee
“The staff are so friendly and seem to love their job. Their enthusiasm adds to the ambiance and makes each visit a fun time.” – Tidal Grounds Customer
A quick look at the Yelp reviews for Tidal Grounds Coffee and you’ll want to hop in your car and head there immediately. This vibrant space is a welcome addition to the community, offering a specialty cafe experience for folks in Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms and surrounding areas. Open daily, they serve Springbok coffee, signature espresso drinks, and locally-sourced baked goods and savory bites.
“After a week of work when you want to decompress with a good book, wonderful coffee, and a bite to eat, what better place to visit than the neighborhood coffee shop known as Tidal Grounds.” – Tidal Grounds Customer
We chatted with co-owner Janelle Starrett to learn more about the cafe, what she loves most about running a specialty coffee shop, and get a sneak peek at some exciting happenings coming up this summer.
Tell us a bit about Tidal Grounds and your team.
Tidal Grounds Coffee is a family-owned coffee shop in Mount Pleasant, SC off of Highway 41 and 17. Our loving TG team is filled with a lot of fun, caring individuals who want to make you feel welcome and at home while sipping one of our delicious coffee drinks or our loose-leaf teas. The vision for the shop was to create a place for anyone to come hang out, work, read, play some board games, and to call their own. We all have a coffee shop we think of as “our coffee shop” and that is what we wanted to be for the community.
How long have you been in business?
Our three year anniversary is July 7th!
What’s something we may not know about your space, menu, or staff?
A few fun things! All of our syrups are made in-house other than the caramel and pumpkin. We use as much local produce as possible and our milk is from Lowcountry Creamery which is a local farm. We love being able to have so many fresh ingredients to put in our coffees.
What do you enjoy most about running a specialty coffee shop?
Running a specialty coffee shop is a dream come true for me and it’s even better getting to do it with my parents and husband. I’ve loved coffee since I was five and have wanted a shop since I was 15. It happened a lot sooner than I thought it would and little did I know I would get to do it where the coffee community is so strong. Watching the business you own and worked so hard to build grow and become part of a community is probably the most rewarding experience I have ever been apart of; it makes my passion for the coffee industry grow even stronger.
Tell us about your customer loyalty program.
Our loyalty program is based on stars. For every dollar you spend, you earn a star. Hit fifty stars and get $5.00 off of anything on the menu including merch.
What’s your favorite thing on the menu right now?
Picking just one is so difficult, so here’s three. Our new Maple Vanilla latte is definitely one of my favorites right now — it’s so smooth, just the right sweetness and smells like pancakes. Our Galaxy Latte is out of this world awesome! If you haven’t had one yet you need to. Last but never least, our flash chilled ice coffee. It’s perfect for the warmer weather that is coming up fast!
Why did you decide to work with Springbok Coffee Roasters?
Once we tasted Springbok’s coffee it was really a no-brainer. We also had the confidence in Jason to keep making the highest quality beans in Charleston. The fact that Springbok is local, of fantastic quality, and extremely knowledgeable made it very easy to choose them as our roaster.
“I never take the time to do this, but this is the best coffee shop I have ever been to.” – Tidal Grounds Customer
Do you have anything exciting coming up at Tidal Grounds?
Again, our third year anniversary is closing in fast! And very soon we will be expanding our milks to include oat milk and expanding our menu to include more savory options.
Tidal Grounds is located at 1039 SC-41, Suite 200 in Mount Pleasant. The cafe is open M-F, 6:30am-9:30pm, Saturday 7am-9pm and Sunday 8am-6pm. Stop by, grab a drink and say hello to Janelle and her wonderful team! Visit Tidal Grounds online at tidalgroundscoffee.com.