The Faces of the Golden Strip is pleased to introduce Chris Williams of Steam Coffee & Cream in Fountain Inn, SC
Please tell us a little bit about you.
A: I was born in Tennessee, moved all over the country and we moved to Atlanta when I was 12 and now I’m living here.
Q: How long have you been in business here?
A: Steam’s been here for three years. We purchase it from Adrienne Horne right around the time of COVID. Mary Lydia and Ian West were the original owners and they sold it to Adrienne and then she graciously sold it to us because COVID hit and she has four kids and she became a home school mom overnight so this was not conducive for her lifestyle anymore. We were blessed to be the recipients of that opportunity to continue the business.
Q: What did you do before that?
A: Before that, we were church planters back in Atlanta. Prior to that, I was on staff as a family minister at Wilburn First Baptist back in Georgia and wanted to plant a church and start a new work. And then we thought, why we don’t go into the coffee business in tandem or in conjunction with that. One thing led to another and for some reason, we just couldn’t figure it out in Bette County. When this came available, we said, let’s go pursue this, let’s go see where this leads and that’s exactly what we did. We purchased the business and now Monday through Saturday, we’re pouring coffees, and scooping ice cream. Sunday morning, we stop and have a worship time here and are pursuing the church as well.
Q: How do you do your sermons and how many following do you have now?
A: Generally speaking, my sermons get between 200 to 500 views on Facebook. And they’re shared and liked, we do watch parties throughout the week in case people are not able to view the message on Sunday. Right now it is an online format.
Q: Do you have a name for that?
A: It’s called ‘lifestream fellowship’ as in the streaming of life. You can find us on Facebook. We also have a website.
Q: Before moving in here, have you visited this area before?
A: My wife grew up in Simpsonville. She went to Hampton Park Christian School. We met on Facebook, I was from Atlanta so I drove there for our first date and the rest is history. She lived in her parents’ house where they currently lived all of her life. So she’s from green and we know the area really well, it feels like we know every third person that walks through the door. It’s awesome!
Q: What do you enjoy most about what do you do?
A: The interaction with the people. I am the classic extrovert. I love people, I love to talk to them, love to know their stories, get involved in their life, get involved with their kids, I love to play with the kids that come in here so let your kids come in here with you because it’s part of the fun. I love having an opportunity to re-inject some life and to be their first stop in the morning and give them some hope and some courage and caffeine for parents.
Q: What do you think might set your coffee shop apart from any others in the area?
A: We have Amanda and Chris and Erica and Dominic, and these are some of the awesome and best people on earth. The really enjoy serving people and they want to get to know our customers. Our people are our favorite ingredient. We really try to curate a vibe of tranquility and what I like to tell people is to give you a 60 to 90-minute vacation during your day, come in here, have a cup of coffee, relax, get energized and have a conversation that gets you motivated as much as the coffee does. We serve ice cream, most coffee shops do not, and we have Hershey’s ice cream. We can do a cup of milkshake or cup of ice cream. We also have sandwiches on croissants and ciabatta’s that are out of this world.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
A: The astronomical growth that’s happening here is definitely a unique factor. And I would also say that while there is growth, the people here are so nice and so supportive and love small businesses so much and are such a tight-knit, amazing community that I have yet defined anywhere else I would want to live. I’ve lived in several places….. I’ve lived in Rochester, New York, Indianapolis, Indiana, Kansas City, Missouri, and Atlanta, Georgia and I have yet to feel the love and the community support anywhere else more than here.
Q: Do you have a favorite restaurant in the Golden Strip area?
A: Sweet Catherine’s. I will travel to just go get her hamburger.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
A: When I was growing up, my dad worked for Eastman Kodak and he was their top sales guy. One of the contests he won he got to take his kids to Maui, Hawaii. We stayed in the Marriot, and they rolled out the red carpet for us. I’ve been there three times and every time I go, I find God there. I love Hawaii so I think that if I could be anywhere else, other than right here, it would be Hawaii.
Q: What is the strangest or funniest incident you’ve experienced in your business?
A: It seems like every third time I make a milkshake, the thing explodes so I stick the wand in there, hit the button and all of a sudden I’m just covered with ice cream and that happens almost every time. I don’t know what I do wrong. Other funny incidents include the random kid who decides his ice cream is finger paint, or the World War II veteran that comes in here and wants to try something new that he’s never tried and can’t pronounce half the things on our menu, but he is really interested and really adventurous and he’s awesome and we love him. We have to explain to him what a macchiato is or a latte and taking him on that journey is always fun. We love all of it.
Q: I already asked you about what inspired you or led you to this. And we know that It was just something you couldn’t do in Atlanta, but why a coffee shop?
A: We love the community. We love gathering. We love conversation. We love inspiration. We love having people around us. We absolutely think that people need to stop talking about each other and start talking to each other and coffee is called a conversational lubricant and can help change the world in a positive direction. if you and I disagree and we get around a cup of coffee, we are more likely to love each other at the end and respect each other’s position than we are to just shout in an echo chamber and enjoy the sound of our own voice.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: Just living the dream right now. It’s fantastic. I mean obviously, our goal is to own a string or a chain of coffee shops and plant churches in them but I think to own a few coffee shops in Hawaii would be on my bucket list and to own maybe a little camper there where we could just go for a couple of months and come back would be a dream come true.
Q: What is your favorite music or 3 bands you might want to see?
A: My favorite band is Run Collective, Casting Crowns, and Mumford and Sons. Also, on our bucket list is to go see Hamilton live.
Q: Do you have a favorite charity organization that you do any volunteer work with?
A: We are currently partnering with Stuffed Blessings and the proceeds go to underprivileged youth. If you notice they don’t have a price tag and the reason is that the founder of the organization said that she would like for people to give whatever is laid on their hearts to give as a result of taking one of Stuffed Blessings homes with them. Obviously, Lifestream would be our primary source of charitable activity and community advancement but right now our nose is to the grindstone and we are working on becoming more active in the community and would love to partner with more charitable organizations. I love to get involved with more youth-related activities. We are big fans of and will continue to contribute to Piedmont Women’s Center, that’s one of the big ones that God has laid on our hearts to help out and we think they’re doing amazing work. Eventually we are going to be more active with them all, but until then, we’re gonna work here and try to build the business so that we can do more with them and Stuffed Blessings.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? And what advice would you give to a crowd of people?
A: The best advice I’ve ever been given…Follow God and be completely surrendered. That’s the best advice I’ve ever been given and the best advice I can give.
Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: I haven’t watched one in two years because captain Winnie has taken over the remote, but probably the Patriot with Mel Gibson or Ray Hart or Russell Crowe. It seems like we are in a Frozen loop at my house right now and I love it.
Q: What 3 words come to mind when you hear the word “HOME”?
A: Tranquil, Nourishing, and Fun.
Q: Who would like to nominate as the Face of Golden Strip?
A: Actually The guy that performed our wedding, who married us, he is a pastor, but he owns a tour guide company. His name’s Mike Cruz and he does tours of Greenville and the golden strip area. He is an awesome guy, he knows everything, he’s a sweet man and he is very knowledgeable. And I think if you were to sit down with him, you would have a good talk.
Q Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in the Golden Strip area?
A: I think the Mayor of Fountain is just a fascinating individual. He went and got a degree in art and now he’s the mayor and he just blows my mind. I mean, he’s one of those cool guys that when you sit down and have a conversation with him, you always leave enriched. And I would definitely if I were to highlight somebody in that regard, I’d definitely say GP.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
A: Hopefully owning more of these around Greenville and Fountain Inn and the Golden Strip area. Maybe even as far as travelers rest, but let’s not go too exotic but that’s the goal.
