Back in January, HubCulture (the parent organization of the Hub City Writers Project and the HUB-BUB) announced it would be opening a new downtown bookstore in the ground floor of the Masonic Temple on Morgan Square. Since that initial announcement, progress on the site has clipped along, and the current plan now includes an attached cafe that will serve as an outlet for a local bakery. Tonight, Spartanburg City Council will vote on a proposed grant that will give $21,000 to HubCulture to offset some of the costs of bringing the bookstore, coffee shop and bakery to downtown.
And although we’ve been following the story, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal deserves recognition here for putting together the details in a single, easy-to-digest package.
Spartanburg City Council will decide today whether to grant $21,000 to HubCulture to help renovate the Masonic Temple for a downtown bookstore, coffee shop and bakery.
Construction is under way for Hub City books at the Main Street temple. Little River Roasting Co. will open a full service espresso bar — with coffee, tea, lattes, and cappuccinos — at the same location, but will continue to roast its coffee at its Marion Avenue location, said Little River customer relations representative Joey Geier, who plans to manage the new coffee shop when it opens.
“This is big for us,” Geier said. “We always thought about doing a coffee shop, and this is a great opportunity and a great building to renovate. We’re looking forward to it.”
Spartanburg-based Cakehead Bakery will offer muffins, scones, cupcakes and other baked goods when the bookstore opens at the end of May, said Betsy Teter, chief staff officer of HubCulture.
Under the agreement with the city, HubCulture would spend about $210,000 on renovations and improvements and the city would provide 10 percent of that amount. If HubCulture spends less, the city’s grant would equal 10 percent of the documented eligible expenses, according to a city memo. The city’s portion would be taken from business corridor funds.
Of course, the bigger news here is that downtown will soon be getting what amounts to three new, decidedly local shops. The bookstore will largely focus on the HCWP’s own titles, many of which are either about the Spartanburg area or written by authors with a strong local connection. Little River Roasting is already a popular meeting place, and they seem to have a strong grasp of cafe culture, which is something that many of the previous downtown cafes have lacked. Cakehead Bakery is perhaps the least-known party involved in the new project, but having sampled their wares at the HUB-BUB Art Mart last year, I’m genuinely excited to know they have a downtown distribution point.
Think about this: Assuming everything keeps to schedule, by late Spring you could find yourself shopping for local books, walking mere feet away to buy a drink made with locally roasted coffee, and have a locally made muffin on the side. If you were feeling frisky, you could walk next door to Carriage House Wines and pick up something for later, and if you felt like crossing the street, you could even sample the latest RJ Rockers seasonal brew at the Tap Room. Of course, by that point, you might need a short walk for more coffee before heading home. All of that activity — social and economic — is taking place in an area that perhaps 100 feet across, and which was almost completely unused this time last year. It’s only a small leap to see how this activity could easily spread to other parts of downtown if the right sort of businesses — ones that support each other indirectly, rather than openly compete — move in.
If you’d like to show your support for the project, consider attending City Council tonight.
Steve Shanafelt
While I’m all for the idea of a bookstore downtown, especially a non-profit used bookstore with a cafe and bakery, I don’t quite understand why the space downstairs in the existing Hub-Bub building isn’t suitable. I’m talking about the space next to Brasserie Ecosse that the Hub City Co-Op was considering. Isn’t it already partly renovated, and didn’t the City pay to have the adjacent lot paved for parking a year or two ago? Is that space not large enough, or is it more a question of wanting to be on Morgan Square? It’s hard to believe it’s merely a question of price, given that the Masonic Building may require $200,000 in renovations and another $20,000 from the City.
When we began our plans and fundraising in November, that site belonged to the food co-op. We didn’t want to interfere with that project. We were way too far down the road when that site came open. I still have faith the co-op will go there.