Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

43 www.BestOfMP.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com “I don’t even really know what I just rambled about, but I’m hitting ‘share.’ That’s how we roll at The Co-Op!” So ends a post on the Instagram page of The Co-Op of Sullivan’s Island, a café serving local coffee, gourmet sandwiches, wine, beer and eight flavors of their specialty drink, frosé. In rambling, stream-of-consciousness Instagram posts, Co-Op owner Jess Patterson never hesitates to get real – and silly – about far more than burgers and beverages. This is not your typical business social media feed, friends. And it’s wonderful because of it. Patterson took over the Instagram feed at about the same time he took over the Co-Op itself. He left a lucrative job in finance to purchase what was, at the time, a little island gift shop with a deli in the back. He changed course quickly, scaling back on tchotchkes and expanding the menu. He worked with Charleston Coffee Roasters to offer $1 cups of joe, then introduced the Co-Op’s flagship product, frosé. The frozen mixture of dry rosé wine and bartender-created blends of simple syrups is by far the biggest seller of the café, and served in to-go cups, it’s the perfect beachy beverage. As the Co-Op was falling into place, however, Patterson’s personal life was taking a turn for the overwhelming. “At the same time,” said Patterson, “my wife and I got married, she got pregnant, we had our baby, and two weeks later, she got diagnosed with b-cell lymphoma. All our priorities completely changed at that moment.” Patterson took to the Co-Op’s Instagram feed, sharing info not just about sandwiches and frosé, but also his wife, Liza, and their newborn baby girl, Genevieve. “Liza was in the hospital for most of the year,” he said. “She’d just had Genevieve, and I was being Mr. Mom. I learned so much in that year of what was important, and how hard it is to be a single parent. I think about all these moms who are with their kids all day and how hard that is. All these different things were running BY LEAH RHYNE Life, Love and Frosé Co-Op owner Jes Patterson Serves It All Patterson’s wife, Liza, with daughter Genevieve. lowcountry cuisine