A Woman's Work

By Stephanie Burnette & Tasha L. Harrison / Photography By | Last Updated October 02, 2018
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Do women have a deeper thumbprint on the hospitality market where we live more than other places? Yes and no.

Yes, the Upstate is fertile ground for startups. We are commerce-friendly for retailers and replete with fresh, short-stay tourism. It is simple and affordable to start a business here. When compared to our neighbor states, commercial rent is low, as are taxes and gas. Add in the super highway of 85 zipping southerners between the juggernauts of Atlanta and Charlotte and, in essence, women have rolled the dice here opening businesses, making wares and creating organizations to impact change because the risk-to-reward ratio feels favorable.

It’s women who plan domestic travel for pleasure—some research says up to three times more than men—and our shops and restaurants in the Upstate are teeming with female business owners, managers and staff . Include a manufacturing sector inciting both business travel and residential growth and you have a community large enough for municipal infrastructure and qualified health systems, but still bantam in its ability to connect resources and influence consumers.

But also, no. The Upstate is not singular in how women influence foodways. We have southern mothers and grandmothers. When we think about who fed us, these are the women who come to mind. This work we’re speaking of—to bake and to be in kitchens, to staff markets, to reinvent yourself, to advocate, to feed students, to buy from farms, to run a business—is nothing new. It’s archetypal. Southern women do and with a third hand they’ll feed you or water you or comfort you or wave you out the door to try again. Southern women and food? That’s an age-old story.

The profiles that follow are merely a glimpse of what’s going on as female professionals influence what we eat and drink, at home and about town, in Upstate communities. We started with a list of dozens of notable women and settled on six stories that felt diverse in experience. What we didn’t expect was a single shared trait: surprise. Each woman was taken aback by our call, which we think means we chose well. These are not women who try to get their story out, who seek media attention or spend money on PR. They have sought out their positions— or crafted them from the ground up. These women are driven to succeed, wired to leave their mark, and unconcerned about who notices.

The Entrepreneurs: Heather Frechette & Elizabeth Hunt

Two friends opened three concepts (without a man or a bank in sight). Heather Frechette and Elizabeth Hunt have been friends since college...

The Educator: Irene Pena

The head of St. Francis’ Community Wellness Outreach Program serves people of all kinds with compassion. It has been said that nursing is...

The Drink Maven: Maria Jose Lehman

“Tequila Ambassador” is more than just the job you dreamed of in college. Maybe the most unique business card in the state is María José...

The Advocate: Alissa Ritzo Duncan

This city planner is well positioned to improve access to healthy, local food in the Upstate— for all. The farm-to-table movement is...

The Artisan: Chancey

The baker behind Banana Manna puts love in the loaves. The word manna is mentioned three times in the King James Bible. In the Old...

The Shopkeeper: Veera Gaul

Oil & Vinegar’s Veera Gaul has a quality bias. Veera Gaul found the next chapter of her life by not moving to the beach. The former...