When Mary Walsh and her business partner Jacqueline “Jac” Oliver launched Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery in 2011, they weren’t trying to build a trendy cafe or just another grocery store. They were former nonprofit colleagues with a passion for local food and community, and they saw a gap in their Greenville, South Carolina neighborhood.
At the time, there was no place to buy local cheese, produce, or meat outside of farmers markets, and no grocery store built to support small food makers year-round. With a shared vision, a small loan, and their life savings, Walsh and Oliver opened Swamp Rabbit in a 1,200-square-foot building beside the newly extended Swamp Rabbit Trail, a former rail line turned walking trail.
The trail inspired both the name and the philosophy. Walsh was a frequent bike commuter and wanted the space to be safe and welcoming, whether you arrived on foot, by bike, or by car. The need for accessibility shaped how the business grew. “Instead of having a parking lot, we have a kids area. We want people to come here and see their neighbors,” Walsh explained. Over time, customers became friends, kids grew up together, and a sense of community took root.
Today, Swamp Rabbit is a café, bakery, grocery, community hub, and regional food distributor — all built on the belief that good food from local farmers should be easy to access. Throughout its journey, the business has relied on Square to keep the focus on people, not systems.
How it started: No service experience and a lot of heart
Swamp Rabbit started small, with a fresh bakery and a full-service grocery. There were a few tables and chairs, but the mission was bigger than the footprint.
“Neither I nor [Oliver] had extensive food service backgrounds,” Walsh explained. “We just had a really intense passion for food. That passion is what carried us through in actually making our dream a reality and doing all the things we’re doing now. We kind of say it’s like getting an MBA. It costs a lot of money, but it’s better ‘cause you actually experience it.”
In the early days, Walsh and Oliver did everything themselves, alongside their husbands. The team of four handled ordering, prepping, stocking, and even construction. From the start, they needed tools that wouldn’t slow them down or require tech expertise. And Square proved to be the right choice. The Square Point of Sale system helped them get up and running quickly and made it easy to bring on staff as the team began to grow.
“Your POS system is like your backbone,” said Walsh. “So, having it be reliable is critical for your team and your customers. Having that system be as robust as it can be and as trainable as it can be is critical for us to be successful.”
How it’s going: A thriving community hub supporting 400 producers
What began as a small café and grocery has evolved into a bustling hybrid business. Swamp Rabbit now supports up to 400 local farmers and food makers each year and employs a team of 150 people.
While their operations have grown more complex, their systems haven’t had to. They still use Square — just a lot more of it. “We have slowly expanded, and Square has grown with us,” said Rachel Pitman, marketing manager for Swamp Rabbit Cafe.
The business relies on Square to power both the retail and restaurant arms. “We’re unique in that we are pretty much like half retail, but our restaurant portion is really busy too,” explained Pitman. “And so we need a system that can really do both.”
That flexibility helps the team stay agile, especially during peak times. “We’ve experienced exponential growth,” said Pitman. “Some days we get so busy, we’ll put out every iPad we have logged into Square. We even use Square Terminal for express checkout, which is great for customers with just a few items.” Square Terminal is especially great for staff members, enabling non-cashiers like Pitman to jump in and help on a busy day, adding to the community feel.
The Swamp Rabbit team is able to take community to the next level by leveraging Square Marketing to stay connected at any time. The weekly email newsletter has become something customers look forward to. “It kind of has a special following, our newsletter,” said Pitman. “People look forward to it to see what’s in season, what events we’re doing, and to get their weekly coupon.”
The impact: A strong community with plans for the future
As Swamp Rabbit has grown, so has its ability to support the people around it. Today, it’s not just a place to grab a smoothie or stock up on local produce. It’s a vital hub for farmers, food makers, staff, and loyal customers. “There’s probably at least a hundred vendors that depend on us as their largest customer,” Walsh noted. “It’s a big responsibility.”
These vendors don’t just deliver and leave. They stay for coffee, meet other farmers, and build relationships that strengthen the local food network. “There’s something validating that happens every day,” she added. “And being able to use Square to run a report and see how many local farmers we supported — that’s the non-anecdotal part that shows we’re making an impact.”
Even during major disruptions, Square has helped the team stay focused and steady. “Every time we’ve been hit with a curveball, like a pandemic or a hurricane, Square’s ease of use and flexibility allowed us to get through it and focus on running the business,” Walsh explained.
Looking ahead, Walsh and Oliver aren’t planning new locations. Instead, they’re focused on making what they’ve built even stronger. “We get approached to open a second location all the time,” she shared. “But we try to be cautious because this is already a really complex operation. In five years, we just want this place to be even better. And Square will play a big role in that.”
