Tag Archive

Video: Spartanburg City Council, Monday, March 8, 2010

By Steve Shanafelt

Spartanburg City Council heard from several nonprofit groups that have applied for Community Development Block Grants and HOME funds. The groups have requested a combined $130,944 in CDBG funds and $75,000 in HOME Funding. The public hearing was purely for informational purposes, and council took no action on the requests. Council also voted unanimously... »

Sparkle City Headlines: City Council Weighs Bookstore-Cafe Grant

By Steve Shanafelt

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... »

Sparkle City Headlines: Former Bi-Lo To Become New Piedmont Community Actions Project

By Steve Shanafelt

If there’s one thing Spartanburg has more than enough of, it’s large, empty storefronts. Few things make a city look as desperate and run-down as a wealth of hollowed-out shells where businesses once lived. So, it’s hard to see the recent announcement that local non-profit Piedmont Community Actions Inc. has acquired the former Bi-Lo... »

HUB-BUB’s Refshauge Wins National Arts Leadership Award

By Steve Shanafelt

While many people in the Spartanburg area are at least aware of the HUB-BUB as local arts organization, relatively few people seem to realize just how rare and unique the project and its goals actually are. Not only is the HUB-BUB a rare thing for Spartanburg — or even South Carolina — it’s actually... »

Hub City Brew Review: RJ Rockers Bald Eagle Brown

By Christopher George & Mike Cathcart

This week on the HCBR we’re taking on RJ Rockers Bald Eagle Brown. This is a solid English Brown Ale from the hometown brewery. It’s got a nice toasted, chocolate malt flavor, with just enough hops to balance it out. The Bald Eagle Brown isn’t a very complex beer. In... »

SparkCast: Snow Day

By Steve Shanafelt

It’s snowing in Spartanburg! Has the snow ruined your weekend plans, or turned an otherwise dreary weekend into something fun? Let’s hear all about it! Music by Apes on Tapes. »

Hub City Brew Review: RJ Rockers Rock Hopper IPA

By Christopher George & Mike Cathcart

This week we take on RJ Rockers Rock Hopper IPA. This new style from RJ Rockers is only available at the Taproom downtown, but it’s very much worth the trip. There’s a super hop flavor on this one, great for all those hopheads out there, grapefruit notes, soapy hop oil, and just... »

Weekend + Fun = Awesome

By Christopher George

So, after the epic, ice-related fail that was last weekend, I’m sure everybody is chomping at the bit to get out and have some fun this weekend. Nothing can stop the awesome train of weekend delight this time! Sure there’s some precipitation coming, and whether we’re looking at freezing rain or just... »

Hub City Brew Review: RJ Rockers Bell Ringer Ale

By Christopher George & Mike Cathcart

This week the Hub City Brew Review takes on RJ Rockers Bell Ringer Ale. This is RJ Rockers’ high gravity offering, and it’s a winner in our book. It’s got big malts, big hops, and well-masked alcohol for a potent beer. In our estimation, this should be RJ Rockers’ signature beer. We... »

Flying Oskar: Thank You!

By Christopher George

“On Union Street, there’s an empty lot that used to be home to a welding supply company.” It’s not exactly William Faulkner I know, but that humble little line was the first sentence of the first “Flying Oskar” column I ever wrote for the Spark. That piece was posted on Monday, February... »

Reader Soapbox: Hub City Co-op Ownership Meeting

By Reader Soapbox

Soapbox contributor: Lydia Anthony To write your own Reader Soapbox, visit our Reader Soapbox submission page. Last night was the first ownership meeting of the Hub-City Co-op, and as a proud member of the vanguard of co-op owners, I can hardly wait to tell you all about it. But before I launch into the details of the meeting, you... »

Hub City Brew Review: RJ Rockers First Snow Ale

By Christopher George & Mike Cathcart

This week on for our brew review we’re taking on RJ Rockers First Snow Ale. This is RJ Rockers’ Winter seasonal brew, and unfortunately, we weren’t all that impressed. We felt that the ale didn’t have enough character on its own to combat the overwhelming spice notes. We’re not really fans... »

Spartanburg’s Almost-Certain Real Estate Explosion

By Steve Shanafelt

Yesterday, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal ran a story detailing the long-rumored plans of the addition of yet another college campus in downtown Spartanburg. The Blacksburg, Va.-based Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine is moving forward with a plan to bring a new four-year post-graduate medical school to the city, possibly as soon as fall... »

Hub City Brew Review: RJ Rockers Patriot Pale Ale

By Christopher George & Mike Cathcart

Have you ever caught yourself wondering why Spartanburg doesn’t have a semi-competent, amateur beer review vlog produced by a couple of self-described beer snobs with no real business being in front of a camera? Well wonder no more. Major thanks to my sister, Katie Elder for filming and editing, and her boyfriend Chris Ozbun... »

Let The Fun Begin: Google Street View Expands Spartanburg Coverage

By Steve Shanafelt

Over the last year, we’ve been covering the achingly slow addition of Spartanburg’s roadways to Google Street View. If you’re not familiar with the service, the basic idea is that a car with a special camera mounted on top drives around getting street-level, panoramic images which allow people to take a virtual tour of... »