Knowledge Perk Coffee Co. is expanding across South Carolina with plans to open its first drive-thru café in Little River in fall 2025.
“We typically grow in groups. Our current expansions are doubling down on areas that we are already in and really maximizing our deliveries back and forth trying to be efficient,” CEO Ryan Sanderson told What Now Charleston. “We’re connected from a standpoint within decent proximately of a university where we have larger partnerships with and then building and stacking locations around those areas.”
Sanderson said he and his partner, Jordan Herring, currently operate under a hybrid model of corporate-owned and licensed locations. However, they plan to transition from licensing to franchising while continuing to expand their corporate footprint.
“Our goals is to add at least six to eight more corporate locations within the next 18 months while beginning to start the franchise process,” Sanderson said.
In addition to opening new locations, Knowledge Perk is expanding through strategic partnerships with Coastal Carolina University, the University of South Carolina and the United States Disc Golf Championship. The brand already has successful collaborations in place with Appalachian State University and Winthrop University.
The Rock Hill-based company serves green coffee sourced through direct trade and import, with a focus on quality and supporting coffee-growing communities.
“We’re a small-batch roastery with a mission to transform the way you experience coffee and the global community that brings it to you,” the company states on its website.
Its menu includes cold brew, lattes, espresso drinks, matcha and tea. Seasonal offerings include the Cookie Butter Latte, Matcha Latte and Honey Badger Latte. Food options range from Bronx-sourced bagels and croissants to sandwiches such as turkey and provolone, caprese chicken salad and roast beef melts.
Coffee blends are also available online, including limited releases, signature blends and single-origin selections from individual growers and regions.
Founded in 2017, Knowledge Perk operates locations in Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Charlotte, Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach. Two more locations are expected to open soon: one in the lobby of Gateway 737 in Columbia, and another at The Mill at Fountain Inn in Spartanburg.
Another two are expected to open in Spartanburg within the next six months, along with another in Charlotte, though details for the Charlotte site have not yet been disclosed.
“I’m so excited to see what our team of people can accomplish over the next three to five years as they figure out where their skill sets lie and I can get to help them grow,” Sanderson said. “I’m almost more excited to watch them grow than I am for the brand because them growing will grow our brand.”
[Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include an official interview with Ryan Sanderson.]
