03 May Upstate Headlines: A Laurens Road Transformation, A new coffee shop in Spartanburg & more…
A collection of the top Upstate headlines for the week of May 3, 2017
Makeover Mile: Could Laurens Road become the city’s newest redevelopment success story?
Laurens Road’s success as one of Greenville’s leading commercial corridors once rested on the automotive industry and big-box stores. But as automotive dealerships merged and big-box stores left, the state highway’s significance in Greenville’s commercial landscape plummeted. While it may not look like it yet to motorists, Laurens Road is once again becoming a hot spot all the way from Interstate 85 and the Motor Mile to Washington Street and Interstate 385 — interest that Greenville Mayor Knox White said will turn the area into one of the city’s biggest redevelopment success stories.
Greenville Zoo welcomes two ocelot kittens
The Greenville Zoo has announced the birth of two ocelot kittens. Staff discovered the kittens in March, but waited for them to mature before making an announcement, according to a news release. They are the second offspring of Evita and Oz, who were brought to the zoo in 2013 in hopes that they would mate. Their first two kittens, which were born in 2015, marked the first successful birth of the species at the Greenville Zoo.The pair’s new kittens will go on exhibit this week.
13 Stripes Brewery opens in Taylors Mill on May 13
The four-year process of bringing 13 Stripes Brewery from concept to reality when it opens May 13 in Taylors Mill has been a family affair for the seven partners. Aside from being related to each other by blood or law, as some of them are, they’ve been busy creating the next generation of brewers before this one even got off the ground: As of June, their collective number of children will reach 21. It was 16 when they started.
South Carolina Children’s Theatre unveils plans for its much-anticipated new home
The S.C. Children’s Theatre could break ground in September on its new multimillion-dollar campus that will include a 300-seat theater, a separate Second Stage space, education classrooms, administrative space, and a large lobby. The theater will move out of its space on Augusta Street in August, so it can be torn down to make room for the new facility, said Debbie Bell, executive director. Construction is expected to take 16 months. The theater expects to be in its new facility in January 2019.
Bella Latte, Mozza Roasters open Friday at Drayton Mills Marketplace
Spartanburg’s newest coffee shop and roasting company will offer quality cups of joe and a closer look at the coffee-making process when they open Friday morning. Bella Latte and Mozza Roasters, along with the headquarters of parent company Melotte Enterprises, are opening inside a 4,000-square-foot space at Drayton Mills Marketplace on Drayton Road.
