Since 2013, $125 million has been invested in the hub city and more than half of that money is tied up in projects currently underway.

Miyako Sushi: Their new space at 118 Magnolia St., just a few doors down from their current location is currently under construction. The new sushi joint will feature a 5,000-square-foot dining room on the ground floor, a 2,800-square-foot bar and a 2,000-square-foot patio upstairs.

Mezcal: An upscale Mexican restaurant in the 126-year-old Lundy Building at 141-143 W. Main St. across from Morgan Square is nearing completion.

Pokenori: A Hawaiian/sushi restaurant concept, has opened at 119 N. Church St. beside Growler Haus.
The Kennedy: Local chef William Cribb and his business partner Raj Patel are renovating the former Renato’s restaurant building at 221 E. Kennedy St.

FR8 Yard: William Cribb, Hub City Hospitality Group (owners and operators of Willy Taco) are launching a new outdoor beer garden concept at 125 E. Main St. The lot is adjacent to the Sparkle City Mini Putt. You’ll be able to order your drinks and food from within old shipping containers while playing bocce ball, hanging out by the fire pit, and watching fall football up on the massive projector screen.

Abbott’s Frozen Custard: Planning to open on the ground floor of the Palmetto Building at 100 E. Main St.

New Groove Artisan Brewery: The brewery opened back in July in the 4,100-square-foot space at 4078 Highway 9 beside the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Boiling Springs, roughly 20 minutes outside of downtown Spartanburg.

Last week, Mary and I spent the day in Spartanburg and had the chance to tour the new AC Hotel (spearheaded by Spartanburg based OTO Development, a Johnson Management Company), and let me tell you, this place is epic. (You may have seen some of our behind the scenes footage on Instagram, this past Friday). When the hotel, situated right next to RJ Rockers, is finished this fall, it will:

Sit at 208 feet tall
Have 114 rooms
Be a destination for weddings (with an outdoor infinity pool) + company events, with a whole floor dedicated to meeting space
And the 10th floor will become Rick Erwin’s new Level 10 restaurant + bar (trust us when we say the balcony view is worth the 45-minute drive from Greenville)

This is one of the biggest developments in downtown Spartanburg (coming in at $20M), but it’s far from the only new development helping spearhead the growth of the city. Since 2013, $125 million has been invested in the hub city and more than half of that money is tied up in projects currently underway.

Huge shout out to Trevor Anderson, Upstate Business Journal’s resident expert on all things Spartanburg, for all of the info. Read his feature “Hub City on the Cusp” here.

Montgomery Building – $29M project: Back in February, BF Spartanburg purchased the 93-year-old Montgomery Building at 187 N. Church St. for $680,000 from Cypress Lending Group. The building's future?

72 apartments
10,000 square feet of space for restaurants and retail
11,680 square feet of office space.

They are estimating this project to be wrapped up by this fall.

Aug. W. Smith Department Store Building - $10.5M project: In March, Greenville-based Blue Wall Real Estate, through its subsidiary Good Wall Aug Smith LLC, snatched up the 91-year-old Aug. W. Smith department store building at 174 E. Main St. (across from Denny’s Plaza), for $920,000. The building will plan to hold 45 luxury apartments and two ground-level retail spaces.

Spartanburg is growing fast. During our visit, we couldn’t help but take in the old southern vibe of Main St. and with all of the new restaurants, hotels, apartments, and businesses (such as Coldwell Banker Caine’s new office) popping up, we’re sure it will soon be flooded with visitors and locals alike.

With the Hub City being only 40 minutes away from Greenville, it will definitely be a fall destination for Greenvillians looking to check out all of the new amenities.
P.s. Who knew Denny’s HQ was located in downtown Spartanburg?

– Logan