The Nomad Cafe and Coffee Company to open on Marlboro Street in the next few weeks

Those looking for a quick but tasty breakfast or lunch in Bennettsville will soon have a new option.
Using a small building that they already owned, Bill and Rachel McDonald plan to open The Nomad Cafe and Coffee Company, which will be located at 108 South Marlboro Street, as soon as the end of March.
The path to the opening of this new enterprise is a bit curvy, mostly influenced by the pandemic.
The McDonalds have owned a home in Bennettsville for several years but only made it their primary residence about a year ago. They were living most of the year in Italy as Bill finished an assignment as an engineer.
However, after facing the early days of the pandemic in almost complete quarantine, the McDonalds escaped Italy to their new hometown at the first opportunity. That set in motion their goal of opening a restaurant.
“Not long after we bought our house, we purchased the old bank building on Broad Street (originally Marlboro Trust Company) with the intention of opening a restaurant there. We began having work done to stabilize that building, which was in pretty bad shape,” recalls Rachel.
Included in the purchase was a small building on South Marlboro Street that was occupied by a hair salon. The McDonalds put a new roof on the establishment, but otherwise planned to leave the building and its paying tenants undisturbed.
Once the pandemic began, their thoughts about the little shop began to change. First, feeling pressured by the restrictions of the pandemic, the salon owners decided to close.
Although they continued to work on the Broad Street site, the McDonalds knew that this was hardly the time to open a brick and mortar restaurant where the patrons would have a seated meal.
“Traditional restaurants have suffered greatly in the pandemic. But if you can do quick access food or have a drive-thru, then there is still a high demand,” said Rachel.
“A lot of people don’t want franchise fast food to be their only option,” she added.
So the McDonalds began thinking of how they could simplify their planned menu, utilize what they already had and get a business open as quickly as feasible.
“Using this building was Bill’s idea. One morning, he couldn’t sleep. He came down here, got all the measurements and by the time I got up, he was finishing the designs for our cafe,” explains Rachel.
Those plans have been changed a bit due to the challenges they have encountered in changing the hair salon into a cafe. From ancient wiring to termites, there have been quite a few hurdles.
“We wanted to have exposed brick to add to the European flair but when we exposed the walls, the original roofers, nearly 100 years ago, had spilled tar all over them,” she said.
So, their construction manager Charles Gibbs, who is also Rachel’s cousin, is working to re-frame the walls for sheetrock. Although the 11′ by 36′ space won’t allow for dine-in tables, Gibbs is going to construct a large deck behind the building for seating.
It will be a busy month but Rachel is still optimistic that a late March opening can be accomplished.
At that time, the people of Bennettsville can get a little taste of Europe right here at home. The Nomad’s menu will feature fresh-baked pastries and croissants like a cafe in Paris or Rome might offer.
In a nod to Bill’s Scottish roots, they will serve “savory pastries from Scotland,” such as sausage rolls and meat pies.
“I’ve taste-tested them on the guys (working on the construction project) and got nothing but thumbs up,” she said with a smile.
The centerpiece of the shop will be an Italian coffee bar that had already been purchased for the restaurant on Broad Street. The McDonalds have even been working with a coffee roasting company and will soon be unveiling their own line of coffees.
The Nomad will offer a lunch menu of sandwiches, wraps, soups and paninis.
“Everything will be easy and fast but will be fresh with no preservatives. All items will be fresh and handmade daily,” said Rachel.
Though the shop will not be typically opened in the evenings, the McDonalds will prepare a take-out meal for special occasions.
As for their original plan for a restaurant on Broad Street, the McDonalds still intend to bring that to fruition but probably not until sometime in 2022.
Until then, they have big plans for the tiny building.