Caviar & Bananas announces Greenville leadership team
July 22, 2016
GREENVILLE, SC – Caviar & Bananas, a gourmet market and cafe concept that started in Charleston, has announced their Greenville leadership team. Caviar & Bananas will open its first location outside the Charleston market in August in downtown Greenville at ONE City Plaza on Laurens Street. The team members include Ryan LaFleur, General Manager; Edwin (Eddie) Wiles, Executive Chef; and Holly Whatley, Executive Pastry Chef. They join founders and owners, Margaret and Kris Furniss, as they open the first Caviar & Bananas outside of the Charleston market.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ryan, Eddie and Holly to the Greenville Caviar & Bananas team,” said Kris Furniss, co-founder and co-owner of Caviar & Bananas. “They each bring extensive background and experience to the table from a variety of successful culinary ventures, and we feel confident we have selected a fantastic team to help launch and lead a successful Greenville location.”
With more than twelve years of experience, LaFleur most recently served as general manager for Bucee’s where he led the multi-million-dollar food service operations. He brings experience in long term and day-to-day operations, management of multiple teams totaling 100 employees or more, and providing an excellent customer experience.
Wiles, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, brings more than 17 years of experience in various aspects of restaurant and food service management. He spent the past two years as an executive chef in Charleston at Virginia’s on King, a southern, low country restaurant that is part of the well-known hospitality group, Holy City Hospitality, which includes 39 Rue de Jean and Coast Bar and Grill to name a few. He has also staged at Thomas Keller’s 3 Michelin Star-rated restaurant, the French Laundry, in Napa Valley.
Whatley, a Travelers Rest native, has served Caviar & Bananas as the George Street executive pastry chef for the past year and is excited to return to Greenville to lead the pastry team there. Prior to Caviar & Bananas, she served as the lead pastry cook at Peninsula Grill in Charleston. She is a graduate of the Art Institute of Charleston culinary program and brings a wealth of knowledge from her experience as a pastry chef in the Charleston culinary scene.
Caviar & Bananas Greenville will occupy 4,700 square feet with an outdoor seating area and will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. The market and café will offer a selection of prepared and packaged goods, made-to-order salads and sandwiches, an espresso/tea bar, artisan pastries and baked goods, boutique wines and craft beers, a charcuterie and cheese counter, and gourmet gift baskets. The store will also offer delivery of their everyday menu items to customers.
Caviar & Bananas Greenville will also include a wine bar that features a unique selection of wines and a menu of delectable yet affordable small plate offerings that will be available during the afternoon and evening hours. This fall, Caviar & Bananas will launch their Gourmet-to-Go catering menu, which will offer a selection of signature hors d’oeuvres, entrees, and sides for simple yet sophisticated weeknight dinners, office lunches or special occasions.
In addition to the Greenville store, Caviar & Bananas plans to open a Nashville location in 2017 which will be its fifth location. For more information about Caviar & Bananas, please visit www.caviarandbananas.com or follow Caviar & Bananas on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
