SC has one of 14 best food cities in the US and it’s not Charleston, Travel + Leisure says

It all started in an age-old building that had been a cotton exchange then a grocery before being used as a discount shoe store.

Built in 1856, it didn’t look like much — green front on the street level, white painted brick on the second, home to Cancellation Shoe Mart that advertised its tagline under the name: “The home of famous name brand shoes.” Think Pappagallo sandals, a local favorite.

But Carl Sobocinski, a New Hampshire native who moved south to play baseball at Clemson University (he played two years) saw promise in the old building.

He saw a restaurant. He founded the upscale Soby’s New South Cuisine in 1997 when downtown Greenville turned into a ghost town after 5 p.m. Other restaurants mainly catered to business people needing lunch.

He turned the shoe store into a cozy brick-walled space with a richly hued wooden bar and a glass front that can be opened during warm weather. There is also a special table — 301 — that overlooks the kitchen.

That was the genesis for what today is the centerpiece of a booming downtown with some 200 restaurants of every cuisine, a development that has brought Greenville more accolades than almost any small city in the South.

Here comes another: Travel + Leisure says Greenville is one of 14 best food cities in America on par with New York City, Chicago and New Orleans.

The magazine doesn’t mention Soby’s but does mention another of Sobocinski’s Table 301 restaurants Camp, which “offers an eccentric menu featuring unique dishes like Thai-inspired calamari and lamb smothered in curry cream.”

“The Greenville that was a quiet cotton mill town is long gone; the city today is vibrant and full of unique culinary offerings rivaling larger nearby locales like Charlotte and Asheville,” Travel + Leisure says.

They mention Coral, a seafood restaurant on Main Street, Jones Oyster Co. on Court Street and Methodical Coffee.

“Other must-visit spots include Scoundrel, a fantastic French brasserie headlined by acclaimed chef and Greenville native Joe Cash; farm-to-table fan-favorite Topsoil Kitchen & Market (helmed by 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist Adam Cooke in Travelers Rest) and Mexican eatery Comal 864 (owned and operated by Dayna Lee-Márquez, a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist).”

Scoundrel was recently awarded one star from the first Southeast Michelin Guide. Soby’s and Topsoil Kitchen & Market were recommended by Michelin during the 2025 award ceremony in Greenville.