Why are so many high-end restaurants coming to downtown Greenville?

What do Husk, Ruth’s Chris, Halls Chophouse have in common? All three restaurant have opened, or will open, in downtown Greenville in the next year, and all carry an average per-person price of more than $50.

Greenville is predicted to add 1,087 new hotel rooms in the next three years, but another measure of the city’s evolution is the growth of the downtown fine dining sector.

Where once the city struggled to sustain high-end restaurants, now established restaurant brands are flocking to the downtown.

Companies and restaurateurs cite the city’s economic virility and growth, the vibrant job market that is drawing young professionals and a chance to get in on the front end of the city’s foodie boom.

“Why not Greenville?” said Tommy Hall in response to the question of why his family’s restaurant group chose to open one of its famous restaurants in Greenville. “Greenville is on the map. It’s such a great community, the people and business and quality of life are there, and upscale fine dining restaurants are just a complement to what is already there.”

Hall, co-owner of Hall Management Group, had been eyeing Greenville as a potential market for his family’s business for some time. Having attended Clemson University, he said he saw how quickly the city and the area were growing.

He cited business growth and an influx of young professionals as adding fuel to the restaurant scene.

“Young men and women are moving there because of a great job market, and they want a place to go and socialize and dine,” Hall said. “We see them before and after the shows. They come and gather after work. There is a lot of business done in our bar.”

In May 2015, Hall Management Group acquired several restaurants from Maverick Southern Kitchens. The deal included the High Cotton restaurant in Greenville.

By December, Hall Management decided to close High Cotton and replace it with Halls Chophouse. The second location of the award-winning steak house carries an average price of $85-$90 a person, and the restaurant has been doing very well, Hall said.

“The guests are from all over, and they call Greenville home now,” Hall said. “And they want that first class, fine dining experience.”

‘A leisure destination’

It’s not just people moving to Greenville who are fueling growth but an increase in the number of visitors too, said Taryn Scher, a spokesperson with VisitGreenvilleSC. Thanks to a carefully curated campaign, job growth, natural beauty and restaurants, VisitGreenville has seen a huge uptick in the number of leisure travelers.

In 2011, hotel occupancy in Greenville was about 61 percent, according to VisitGreenvileSC statistics. Last year, Greenville County hotel occupancy hit its highest ever of 72.1 percent, noted Scher, outperforming the United States, Southeast and the state of South Carolina.

Downtown Greenville hotels saw occupancy rates greater than 90 percent for more than one third of the year, which, Scher added, “could explain why more than six hotels are expected to more than double the number of hotel rooms downtown in the next three years.”

In 2011 and 2012, weekend occupancy was well below weekday occupancy, but those percentages have reversed, and weekend occupancy is higher than weekday occupancy.

“We are officially a leisure destination,” Scher said. “People are coming to work and play here, and both camps have to eat here – which is very good news for our restaurants.”

That’s a change from just seven years ago, when the recession hit local restaurants hard. Today, restaurants are full throughout the week, said Carl Sobocinski, owner of Table 301 Restaurant Group, which operates seven concepts.

“Among my peers that I serve on boards with around the country, in this market we’re outpacing other markets,” said Sobocinski, also a member of the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, and a member of the national association’s board of directors. “It’s something that hasn’t been seen since 2005, 2006, 2007.”

Downtown was appealing enough to convince the largest Ruth’s Chris franchisee in the world, Sizzling Steak Concepts, to open its second Greenville location there. The high end steakhouse will open inside the new Embassy Suites this fall, making Greenville the only other city, besides Atlanta, where Sizzling Steak has multiple Ruth’s Chris restaurants.

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The latest upscale restaurant to announce plans to open in Greenville is the award-winning Husk.

Husk Restaurant, which opened in Charleston in 2010 and in Nashville in 2013, will open in Greenville at 722 S. Main St. in the West End district in the fall, according to Kelly Fordham, a spokesperson for the Neighborhood Dining Group. Neighborhood Dining Group operates both Husk locations, as well as McCrady’s, in Charleston, Minero in Charleston and Atlanta, and Chicago’s Steak and Seafood in Atlanta.

In 2011, Bon Appetit magazine named Husk Best New Restaurant in America, and in 2010, Brock won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Southeast.”

Some in the Columbia area might wonder why the capital city is sometimes passed over for such high-end restaurants.

The answer might be in the numbers, some speculate.

Comparing the median income of Greenville, Columbia and Charleston, Greenville and Columbia are relatively close at $41,147 and $41,454, respectively, with Charleston’s median income at $52,971, according to the 2015 US Census.

Closer inspection, though, shows that Columbia’s per capita income of $24,723 is much lower than Greenville ($31,043) or Charleston ($33,117) and the population of Columbia (977.8 people/square mile in 2010) is not as concentrated in one area as in Greenville (2,037.4) or Charleston (1,101.9).

These factors may help explain why restauranteurs might “hopscotch” Columbia in favor of a more target rich environment.

But it isn’t all bad news.

Jason Outman, with the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism, said Columbia is beginning to get its fair share of visitors because of the growth and renovation in the Vista and Main Street areas, as well as at the University of South Carolina.

“Our hotel occupancy, just last week (April 24), showed that downtown Columbia properties were 96% occupied on Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday and 82% over the weekend. That weekend number is 3% higher that last year. And we are beginning to see more leisure travelers.

“In 2014, Columbia had 14.5 million visitors – 9.5 (million) spent the day, 5.4 (million) were overnight visitors,” he said. “We’re also taking the ‘Famously Hot’ focus to the national level in the next 18-24 months.”

In the Upstate, Greenville has grown its economy and jobs market in a way that has created a “perfect storm” for the city’s dining scene, said Stephanie Malinauskas, director of marketing and communications for Ruth’s Chris. Young people, who otherwise might have left to seek jobs in larger cities like Atlanta and Nashville are now staying in Greenville, Malinauskas said.

“And Greenville has a lot around it, the mountains, the river, so it’s just a great sort of all-around place,” Malinauskas said. “When people are considering where to live, its got the Southern charm, business, the outdoors aspect and really, a lot to offer for a city of its size.”

But while the emergence of the higher end restaurants is notable, Sobocinski said there still is room to create something new here. For instance, he doesn’t see anyone doing the kind of food that Devereaux’s did. The storied restaurant that was founded by chef Stephen Greene and acquired by Table 301 specialized in experimental and extremely refined dining.

Devereaux’s closed its doors in October 2013.

“Somebody’s got to do the fine dining,” Sobocinski said. “The Devereaux’s style of dining, the sit there longer, appreciate what the chef is doing, experience. And as long as they don’t do a 100 seat restaurant I think they’ll succeed.”

The State staff writer Susan Ardis contributed.

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Why are so many high-end restaurants coming to downtown Greenville?."