David and Rachael Harris own Simply Savory, a gourmet food market on Devine Street. Rachael is a native of Columbia who worked in the banking industry. David is a Greenville native who moved to Columbia to attend USC, where he majored in Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management. He has been in the restaurant business for the past 20 years; he also owns Nightcaps, a neighborhood bar also located on Devine Street.
"After our wedding in December 2006, David and I decided we wanted to open a business together," Rachael says. "We learned of the availability of our current unit from David's longtime friend, Daniel Rickenmann." Drawing on David's knowledge of the food business and Rachael's knowledge of the bank business, the Harrises came up with the idea of a gourmet food market that includes wine and cheese. They enlisted the help of Gary Bell, a wine and cheese expert who has worked in the gourmet shops for more than 15 years.
"We feel that Columbia is our home, and we wanted to launch this business in our home town. We knew that our family and friends would support us." Rachael says. "It also helps to know that David's clients from Nightcaps would support us as well."
"The wine and cheese sections we have are out of this world. Gary did a great job stocking this area! I also love our Certified SC Products, which have gone through the process with the state's Department of Agriculture to be called 'Certified SC Products.' Our clients come to look for these products to support our home state."
"In the future, we would like to continue to grow a great client base," Rachael says. "We also hope to expand into making various types of baskets to be shipped, and we're working on an online store."