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South Carolina Business Review

SC and tea

By Mike Switzer
Published August 28, 2026 at 6:30 AM EDT
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Darren Hartford, owner of Oliver Pluff & Company in Charleston, SC
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Oliver Pluff & Company
Darren Hartford, owner of Oliver Pluff & Company in Charleston, SC

While our country has been celebrating a certain tea party that occurred around 250 years ago, our next guest’s company has been enjoying a tea party of sorts, as well, for the past 16 years in our state’s Lowcountry. Mike Switzer interviews Darren Hartford, owner of Oliver Pluff & Company in Charleston, SC.

Oliver Pluff and Company logo
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Oliver Pluff and Company
Oliver Pluff and Company logo

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South Carolina Business Review SC Business Reviewbusiness newsbusinessFoodfood and drinklocal foodAmerica 250SC 250American historyRevolutionary WarAmerican RevolutionSC News
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Mike Switzer
After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.
See stories by Mike Switzer