If there’s one thing local businesses, politicians and citizens can wholeheartedly agree on, it’s the idea that Spartanburg needs to be “attractive” to both businesses and residents. It needs to be a place a company — of any size — actually wants to invest in, rather than view it as just another town with some cheap commercial space available, and it needs to be a place people actually want to live to keep those citizens here.
Is this isn't a selling point, I don't know what is.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about why I moved to Spartanburg. As I’ve mentioned before, it was a relatively simple combination of three factors: the existence of the Hub-Bub, the developments in Hampton Heights and the screaming-to-be-occupied downtown. The fact that it was relatively inexpensive to buy a house here also contributed, and it also seemed like a place that could use something like the online-first community media project I was hoping to start.
But there was more to it than that, too. At the time, it was more a “feeling” than anything else. It was little things: I liked Cafe Ishi’s house coffee; I thought that Monsoon had good tofu; I liked the look of the city as I drove into downtown.
The thing is, no one really “sold” Spartanburg to me. In fact, part of the appeal was that few people outside of the town seemed to be aware of the things I just mentioned. Although the revitalization movement had been going on for at least a decade, and millions of dollars had been spent trying to make the town attractive to people like me, getting that information out appears to have been very much a piecemeal effort.
My conclusion? If the goal is to make this town attractive to new people, new businesses and new ideas — and to keep the existing people and businesses — then there needs to be a central list of selling points to convince both businesses and people that Spartanburg is a worthwhile place to hang one’s shingle and move one’s furniture.
It needs selling points.
While the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce and the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau have their versions of this idea, I’m not absolutely looking for the “big” things.
I’m looking for little things that would sway, rather than outright convince, one to give the town a shot. These can be simple, even mundane, things.
- The banana splits at the Beacon are massive, tasty and inexpensive.
- I’ve never been panhandled here.
- The library is awesome.
- There’s a lot of great and wildly diverse local music, and a HUGE open-mic community for the size of the town.
- There are thousands of college students in need of something to do, and the right place/idea/event could ignite them.
- Bike lanes downtown.
- A huge business college is being built, indirectly dumping tens of millions of dollars right into downtown Spartanburg.
- The Farmers’ Market has potential.
- There are still plenty of buildings and houses for sale downtown, and it’s a buyers market.
- The Nu-Way has deep-fried green beans. They’re excellent.
- There will be a downtown brewpub opening soon, and the brewery is actually pretty good.
What I’m looking for here are your lists about things you find attractive about Spartanburg. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, or even concrete. It just has to be things you genuinely like about the city and the community, or things you find encouraging.
Steve Shanafelt
Music On Main
Jazz on the Square
Spring Fling
International Festival
I wish we did more with the ampitheatre at Barnet Park – much potential there.
Good selection of Thai food.
The best Indian restaurant I’ve ever been to – 5 Spices, that is.
An active Drinking Liberally chapter!
We have a 115-acre nature preserve (the Cottonwood Trail) just three miles from Morgan Square.
And three land conservation organizations — SPACE, Upstate Forever, and Palmetto Conservation Foundation — with offices in town.
Spartanburg has an enormous potential to be a street-skateboarding haven, with all the abandoned urban infrastructure.
A typical so-cal skater-dude could move to spartanburg and live the dream for a fraction of the price he would pay back in california.
We have more than our fair share of creative people. You can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting a musician, artist, or writer.
The pho at Monsoon.
Boots and Sonny’s hot dogs when I’m broke, hungry, and don’t care about being fat.
An uber-cool library.
RJ Rockers Bell Ringer and Patriot Pale
The folk art at last year’s Spring Fling, which I hope will return this year.
Having THE most democratic (small “d”) restaurant in the upstate, The Beacon.
An amphitheater that should be (and hopefully will be) full of action for 9 months out of the year.
Seeing the potential for a favorable political “sort” here in the city, even though the county is a lost cause.
being able to look around and find a good number of things that make me want to believe in my hometown.
Piffy: Welcome to the Spark, Piffy.
Sonny’s Brickoven Pizza is consistently good.
The Chapman Center is a great resource for the community.
Papa’s being 24 hours and right downtown is one of the best things ever.
Relative safe to ride a bike around town (unlike some bigger cities in the Southeast)
Good schools such as Pine Street, Jesse Boyd, Mary Wright, Spartanburg High, etc.
Variety of events offered by our six ‘Colleges’
Affordable Real Estate
Excellent medical facilities;espaecailly Gibbs Cancer Center.
Great places to walk and jog, like the Rail Trail and Cottonwood Trail.
Good place to raise a family.
Many corporaions that support the community (QS/1, Gibbs International, etc.)
Bike Town
Bike Friendly Designation from League of American Bicyclists
Assault on Mount Mitchell
Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail
Public Private Partnership to build new C.C. Woodson Rec. Ctr.
BikeWorx
Globalbike
Parnters for Active Living
Hub City Writers Project
Converse College Low Residency MFA program starting in May
Public school music program with foreign travel opportunities (China this year)
Multiple LEED certified buildings
BREWSTERS ICE CREAM: Never been to one until I moved here
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: totally agree on that, a main reason we moved here
BUBBAS BBQ: great bb
some great places to take the kids like Cleveland Park. Nice little playground there.
The awesome statues all around downtown. My favorites? The one of the mother and daughter reading a book and the kids doing the pledge of allegiance. They add beauty and character to downtown.
Hub City Jam, even though I have yet to attend one.
Low Traffic
Two interstates – easy to get to other places and easy to get back home
Thai Taste, Lime Leaf, Taste of Thai
Chiropractic Care Everywhere
Hatcher Garden – still free!
Neighborhoods with Trees
The Spartanburg Flea Market is fun. I know of no other place in town to easily buy live chickens, VCRs and 8-tracks.
I’m going to have to agree that having Papa’s Breakfast Nook open 24/7… is amazing. So much better than the Waffle House.
There is so much potential in downtown, my friends and I walked through downtown and half of the space is available.. We thought of many things that would/could stimulate Spartanburg.. but lack of funding gets in the way..
I love the library, too. It’s beautiful, I work there, and my husband and I were the first people to ever be married in a Spartanburg County Library…
Sonny’s… is excellent.
The parking garages are great. We like to get take out and have a picnic on the top of the garage and over look downtown.
The old BB&T (currently Denny’s) building has that beautiful little park in front of it…
Music on Main is always good, as well as the Spring Fling..
Wild Wings had me sold.. too bad they closed.
Delany’s has good food, live music, and game nights.. not to mention a full bar..
Spartanburg is FULL of potential… Our downtown could be like downtown Greenville.. lots of shops, restaurants, etc… but its mostly empty and law offices.
We have beautiful parks, and a few minutes from downtown either direction, and you’re in Westgate or on the East side which both have lots of stores/restaurants/etc..
Billy D’s
Our own local news station (WSPA)
Spartanburg Magazine
Marriott is a great location
Increase of bagel shops by 100% (to two–Broadway and Brueggers)
Spartanburg Philharmonic
Mary Black downtown trail
most importantly, I live here. That was a selling point for Billy Mays to move to the upstate.