Chef with Upstate SC roots realizes her dream, rejuvenates a Pickens County landmark

Katie Chaney went from Anderson to the Governor’s School for the Arts … to Wofford College … then Germany … Austin, Texas … and Portland, Oregon … before landing back in the Upstate … where she recently opened her pastry store and grocery, Hester General Store in Dacusville.

Her journey wasn’t mere geography. As a child, Chaney says she felt that she never fit in. But she ultimately discovered a love of cooking, success as a human resources recruiter, marriage, a baby, and now a business – dreams realized.

“The more I put myself out there, the more I realized I did belong,” she says.

“At the Governor's School, I was among creatives. Then I went to Wofford, and I met professors who had so many brilliant ideas. They traveled the world, and they took me on those travels.”

More on Hester General StoreGrocery will bring fresh baked goods, prepared foods and community together

Chaney, who majored in art history and German, chose to live abroad after college – in a tiny town in the Black Forest region of Germany. Her two-year adventure was dimmed by loneliness in the remote locale.

But she cultivated a love of cooking to feed her creativity and the need for meals on a budget.

“It was very difficult,” Chaney says. “One of the things that kept me engaged was food because I had to cook for myself. I was a poor post-grad.”

She sought out seasonal ingredients and shopped at farmer’s markets, then read food blogs and books to teach herself to cook.

“I didn't know it would start this path for me, but it made me happy as I was living abroad and figuring things out,” she says. “I saw how people connect to their food and where they get their food from.”

Chaney found her entrepreneurial spirit in Austin, where she moved at the suggestion of a friend, and started recruiting employees for startup companies.

“I was usually the first HR hire at a company, and I would scale those teams as the company grew,” she says.

“I learned a lot about what it takes to get a business going, how to engage people with a vision of what you're trying to do.”

Food & Dining in Greenville Table 301's Jones Oyster Co. brings New England seafood vibe to downtown Greenville

She also learned that people in her home country didn’t shop and eat as they do in Europe.

“I was honestly surprised that the U.S. didn't live more seasonally,” Chaney says.

Chef begins to realize entrepreneurial dream in Upstate SC

After she met and married her partner in Austin, they moved to Portland for two years. They returned to the Upstate and made a home in Travelers Rest after their daughter was born.

The couple founded a consulting company, but Chaney still spent hours comforting a baby who couldn’t sleep.

“You’re rocking, and you’re thinking about what you want to do,” she says. “I was helping my partner pursue their dream. I felt like we were making good money, and we were doing great things.”

But Chaney wanted an outlet for her own entrepreneurial dream of creating food – and experiences.

“What would it look like? What things would I sell? What types of foods I would make?”

More from Marketplace Greenville: Bringing Homes Back To Life Is Kym Petrie's Passion

She took her ideas to her former creative writing teacher, Mamie Morgan, who had taught at the Governor’s School.

Not only did Morgan gush with enthusiasm, but she also claimed to know the perfect spot for Chaney to make her dreams come true.

Chaney overcomes obstacles to obtain historic building

Perfect was in the eye of the beholder.

The Hester Store was built in 1893 with general merchandise on the ground floor and a barbershop upstairs. The Hester family owned the property until 1983, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. It’s 16 miles from downtown Greenville and 31 minutes from downtown Simpsonville.

The building had been empty for years when Chaney saw it for the first time.

“It was in pieces, but it started to click into place … my study of art history and architecture and love of old things. I had an idea of a long pastry counter, where people would queue up to see the pies, a beautiful merchandise display, and an outdoor area with chairs where people could enjoy community.”

She made an offer on the property in 2021. The bank loan was near closing but fell apart when the property couldn’t be appraised. It was essentially worthless.

“It was a devastating moment,” Chaney says.

She turned to the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, where someone knew an SBA lender at South State Bank. By the start of 2022, the project was a “go” again, except … “We thought it would be three months. And it took eight months.”

The hurdles were many – a historic building comes with a multitude of legal restrictions, no plumbing, outdated electrical wiring, no HVAC, and no refrigeration. The kitchen had to be installed (partly by crane) on the second floor. And no hood or venting was allowed.

None of that deterred Chaney.

“That means we're cooking locally sourced vegetables, and baking pastries in convection ovens,” Chaney says. "No smoke. No flames. No grease."

Here's what to expect at Hester General Store in Dacusville

Hester General Store was complete and open on Dec. 16 with savory and sweet house-made pies, cakes, breads, cookies, pastries, gluten-free and vegan goodies, grab-and-go hard-boiled eggs and fruit parfaits for breakfast, grain and bean bowls for lunch, and perishable and non-perishable grocery items, including frozen ground beef and pork.

In the spring, the grocery will focus on make-your-own picnics and charcuterie boards.

Most will be sourced from local farms. Artisans and entrepreneurs will be represented, including Naked Pasta as well as the greeting card company, Ink Meets Paper – a female- and queer-owned company that hand letterpresses its cards. Chaney says she’s committed to uplifting others, whether that’s her 15 employees or other local businesses, especially those owned by women and mothers and those in the LGBT community.

“My vision is that Hester General Store helps people create magic moments. I think about people's traditions. Whose pie or cake is on their birthday table? If you can connect to people through their food, you have a lifelong customer,” Chaney says. “I'm putting things out there that people enjoy and love.”

Hester General Store will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Cooking Up Business: Historic Store Connects People Through Food