He Almost Opened a Café in Switzerland. He Chose King Street Instead

Jonathan Roth could have opened a coffee shop in Switzerland.

Let that one sink in. The guy was living in the Alps, working as a chef, running businesses across Europe — and seriously considering launching a café there. Instead? He packed up, crossed the Atlantic, and landed on King Street.

Charleston thanks you, sir.

Roth's background reads like a food-world passport. Born in Seattle, raised in New York, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and seasoned by years in Swiss hospitality. He opened and sold multiple businesses overseas before moving back to the U.S. with his wife, Aylin. They tried Miami for seven months.

It didn't stick.

Charleston did.

In October, the Roths opened Sweet Palm Coffee at 471 King St. — and the goal from jump was simple: make the café experience better.

That meant scratch-made everything. That meant food that actually competes with restaurants, not just a sad display-case muffin. That meant sourcing beans from Foresight Coffee Roasters in Mount Pleasant and building a drink menu that goes way beyond your standard oat milk latte.

We're talking banana pudding lattes. A Sweet Palm macchiato. Matcha- and strawberry-topped croissants. Foamy, photogenic iced creations that were practically engineered for TikTok.

And TikTok noticed.

Social media — TikTok in particular — has been a rocket booster for Sweet Palm. Videos of the shop's colorful drinks and beautiful pastries have racked up views and pulled a steady stream of new customers through the door, many of them College of Charleston students.

But here's what matters: they keep coming back. The flashy content gets them in. The quality keeps them.

As Roth told the Post & Courier: "If you look at my menu, it's a lot of different stuff. (We're) trying to surprise the customer and delight the customer."

Mission accomplished.

Sweet Palm Coffee & Food 📍 471 King St., Charleston 🕐 Mon–Thu: 8 AM – 4 PM | Fri–Sun: 7 AM – 5 PM 🌐 sweetpalmcoffee.com

Upper King needed this. A chef-driven café that takes both the coffee and the food seriously — one that doesn't treat pastries as an afterthought and isn't afraid to get a little playful with the menu. Sweet Palm fills a real gap in the neighborhood, and the early returns suggest Charleston already knows it.

Four months in. TikTok-famous. Scratch-made everything. And the guy almost opened in Switzerland.

We got lucky.

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