Spartanburg City News

It's recognized around the country as an experience that can help business ideas can get the jumpstart they need to get off the ground, and February 24–26, the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics is opening its doors to local budding entrepreneurs for Startup Weekend. In 54 hours, participants will learn how to create a real company, meeting mentors, investors, cofounders, an...

Last Tuesday at the Chapman Cultural Center, after more than a year of work and data gathering, including input for thousands of local residents, the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce unveiled its new strategic One Spartanburg action plan. The ambitious plan seeks to move Spartanburg forward in eight key areas, affecting areas as wide-ranging as downtown economic development, improving educatio...

We like being first here in Spartanburg, especially when it comes to downtown development, and this week the City's Design Review Board gave their stamp of approval to a concept that's the first of its kind in South Carolina. FR8 Yard, an outdoor craft beer and restaurant space, is set to transform an empty downtown lot into a hub of activity. Located beside Sparkle City Mini Putt, FR8 Yard will a...

Daniel Morgan Avenue is set to become the next street in downtown Spartanburg to get a makeover after Monday's City Council meeting. In a unanimous vote, Council members approved a $207,971 contract with Capital Construction to improve the street for pedestrians with widened sidewalks on the eastern side that will create additional outdoor public space for dining and improve pedestrian mobility in...

With a new hotel recently topped out and massive historical redevelopments announced for the Montgomery Building and former Aug W. Smith building, 2016 was one of the most exciting years in Spartanburg's history on the downtown development front, and with new restaurants like Pokéritto, Mezcal, and the new Miyako's space all well underway, 2017 is already a year full of promise for Downtown Sparta...

Another winter is upon us, and as the year ends and the cold turns us all into reflective hermits, it's time for what has become something of a tradition on the City Podcast, our look back on the year that was. So what has 2016 been like for the City of Spartanburg? If we had to pick a word, we'd go with groundbreaking. For years, the bureaucrats roaming the corridors of City Hall had identified t...

At Monday's City Council meeting, Fire Chief Marion Blackwell announced an achievement for our city's fire department that places it among the nation's leaders, as the Insurance Services Office (ISO) has recognized the city's fire protection services as Class 1, up from its previous Class 2 rating. The classification, known as the Public Protection Classification (PPC) program, assesses the fire-p...

It's been a property near the top of City Staff's potential historic redevelopment list for a long time, and after City Council's approval of a develoment agreement at their meeting on Monday, a building that was once one of Spartanburg's anchor department stores is on its way to a new life, bringing new residential options and ground floor retail space to downtown on the move. Located at 174 East...

it's become something of a tradition on the podcast for us to take on broader topics and themes during the holidays. Partly it's the slow news time, partly it's that we tend to get a little philosophical around this time of year, but mostly it's that we like imagining all of you, gathered with family and friends around the old bluetooth speaker, listening to the dulcet tones of a deeply nerdy loca...

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, a time for food, family, togetherness, and awkwardly looking down into your plate to avoid making eye contact with that uncle who wants to talk politics. Wouldn't it be great if to have a different sort of gathering leading up to the annual food coma that kicks off the hectic holiday season? Well, make plans to be in downtown Spartanburg on Saturday, November 19 for...

Some of the most revered Southern works of art hang near those created by a deep well of talented local artists. Live music from one or more of two dozen outdoor and indoor stages can be heard nearly every night of the week. A ballet company, a philharmonic, and a theatre company provide big-city productions year-round. Another organization's artist-in-residence program brings artists live and mak...

We spend a lot of time (a whole lot) of time thinking and talking about downtown revitalization and redevelopment on the Northside. That's probably not the most shocking revelation ever to come from this podcast, but one thing we maybe don't talk enough about is connection between the two, as well as another redevelopment effort in its infancy in Highland. Why is that where our efforts are focused...

On National Food Day, Spartanburg will get a lesson in nutrition from The Mary Black Foundation when Dr. Ann Kulze, renowned authority, and motivational speaker in the areas of nutrition, healthy living, and disease prevention, presents "The Happiness Diet at the Chapman Cultural Center on Monday, October 24, 5-7 p.m. Dr. Ann has been featured in a number of national media outlets including the Dr...

The restaurant announcements just keep coming in downtown Spartanburg, and at this past Monday's City Council meeting, another new concept got a big thumbs-up as Council approved a development agreement to bring Pokérrito to the 119 N Church Street. The concept, a fusion of Hawaiian and Japanese cuisines, has exploded in popularity on the west coast and is not only new to Spartanburg, but new to S...

If you follow us on Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter, or Snapchat, you might've noticed a flurry of activity on Tuseday night. Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light's nine public art installations debuted in neighborhoods throughout our city, bringing out thousands to see the culmination of more than a year's work in bringing the Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded project to life. Today on the podcast,...

In October 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies invited U.S. mayors to collaborate with artists and arts organizations to develop innovative projects that engage residents and attract visitors. In all, 237 cities submitted proposals, with Spartanburg joining three other cities around the country selected to receive up to $1 million for public art installations. Spartanburg's winning bold and innovative...

It's our city's both literal and figurative centerpiece, a space with which practically everyone who lives in Spartanburg County is familiar. Serving as the home for recurring events like Jazz on the Square and Music on Main, Morgan Square has long been an ideal (and iconic) place for the community to come together to celebrate. Now, thanks to local arts organization Hub-Bub and their partners thr...

Spartanburg's craft beer scene has definitely been on the rise lately, and on October 15, local craft beer geeks will have even more reason to celebrate as the Hub City Brew Fest returns for its second year. Featuring over 20 brewers exclusively the Carolinas, the festival kicks off at 1 p.m. on the corner of W Main and Spring streets. Set up to raise funds for construction of the Hub City Bike Pa...

From its inception, Hub-Bub's residency program has inarguably been, for many in our city, one of the Spartanburg's most beloved arts programs. Artists from the residency have left their marks on the community in sometimes physical ways (check out Sparkle City Miniputt sometime) and often in more intangible ways, with each year's artists helping Spartanburg to see itself from their fresh, and very...

With new restaurants opeing seemingly every week lately, it's probably safe to say that Spartanburg's restaurant scene is on an upswing, a pretty historic one in our estimation. If the clockwork-esque opeings aren't enough to convince you though, maybe Spartanburg's new food blog, Hub City Bites, can. The website provides reviews of local restaurants, as well as listings broken down by meal, type...

If you've heard any downtown Spartanburg news at all lately, you know that this week has been a big one for one of Spartanburg's most beloved icons, the Montgomery Building. On Monday, City Council passed a development agreement with developer James Bakker, a crucial procedural step that will allow Bakker to move forward with his plans to renovate the building to include 9,500 square feet of retai...

It is perhaps Spartanburg's most iconic struture, a symbol of our history as a textile powerhouse, and a long-vacant, sometimes painful reminder of downtown's 20th century heyday. In many ways, and for many locals, the Montgomery Building has become a barometer for downtown progress. Bring back this beauty, the reasoning goes, and we'll know there really is sometihng to this whole "downtown revitl...

Foodies in Spartanburg have never had it so good. New restaurants throughout the city have either opened or announced openings at a rate faster than anyone can seem to remember, and lunch lines out the door for new downtown hotspots are a daily downtown occurrence these days. The numbers back up what our eyes are saying as well. Hospitality Tax revenue, paid as a percentage of gross restaurant foo...

In June, on the heels of concerns raised by constituents, City Council created a committee to examine the City's longest-running special event, Spring Fling. The festival has been annual staple for decades, and some questions have been raised in recent years about how Spring Fling can serve our downtown as it exists today, and as it continues to grow and evolve. In their two bi-weekly public meeti...

A few months ago, the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce released a community assessment report detailing the challenges and opportunities Spartanburg faces as our community evolves with the changing global economy. Underpinning that 48-page document, was a comparison between Spartanburg and several "peer communities." Among those is Chattanooga TN, a city that has become a poster-child for grow...