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Sparkle City Eateries


Spartan

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I heard this yesterday in 2 places and one of them was with a land development firm, so I felt like he knew what he was talking about. It seems that the current owner was not following all the rules set forth by the home office and well as not paying the franchise fees. I am unsure of whether he doesn't have the money or he just doesn't want to follow the franchise rules. The new restaurant will be called "Taters". This in my opinion is going to be a train wreck similar to when in the 90's The Tavern closed its doors and was replaced by something called "The Red Oak Grill". We all know what happened with that after 3 months. This also happened when McGuffies decided to close its doors and was replaced by a similar restaurant although I can't remember its name. This too was a disaster.

Man, I hope this is not the beginning of a return to the dark days of the 80's-early 00's. I was no huge fan of WW as the service sucked and the wings had gone downhill somewhat. But it is a huge cornerstone and the 21-35 crowd loved it, plus it just provided positive energy to downtown. Now we are going to be stuck with a still empty Abby's building and some pretend restaurant called Taters all within an 1/8th of a mile of each other and on the same side of the street. Maybe after Taters folds, TGIF may give us a shot.

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Losing Wild Wings won't be the end of downtown. If nothing else Wild Wings proved that the market demand is there for a restaurant like that in downtown, so someone will eventually open up more of that type of thing, regardless of what happens to Wild Wings. Lets don't knock "Taters" until we see what it is. It may end up being better than Wild Wings.

I hope we NEVER get a TGIF in downtown Spartanburg. That is the ultimate of generic national chain restaurants. Wild Wing was a regional chain, which is preferred, IMO.

Don't forget the restaurant projects going in on King Street. An Oyster Bar and a Jazz Club, and/or a Sports Bar will open sometime this year I think. They aren't on the Square, but they are downtown.

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I think TGIF could be good, but I'd rather see a Sticky Fingers, New Wild Wing Franchisee. Eventhough some of us may not care for a particular national chain, they do show that a downtown has what it takes to support them. I hate to hear its Taters, but its better than another empty store front, even if its only for a few months before they close too.

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I'm also in favor of local restaurants, but I've got to be honest and say that "Taters" sounds like a terrible redneck stereotypical name. As a professional working downtown, I take guest out to eat just about once a week, and with places like Justin's, Rock WaterTavern, Braisserie Ecosse, just to mention a few, I just don't think I can say "Hey let's go to Taters".

I just hope they don't mess up a good thing trying to be cute with their name. (unless it's Bubba Gump)

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I'm also in favor of local restaurants, but I've got to be honest and say that "Taters" sounds like a terrible redneck stereotypical name. As a professional working downtown, I take guest out to eat just about once a week, and with places like Justin's, Rock WaterTavern, Braisserie Ecosse, just to mention a few, I just don't think I can say "Hey let's go to Taters".

I just hope they don't mess up a good thing trying to be cute with their name. (unless it's Bubba Gump)

As a professional working on the west side taking a client to Taters would be akin to me taking a client to Kick Back Cove. In other words, it ain't gonna happen!

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Hate to be a party pooper and steer discussion away from Wild Wing/Taters but I wanted to throw out a review of Las Palmas. It's in the new shopping center between the eastside WalMart and Tractor Supply on E. Main.

Saw the review in HJ Escape and it spurred my interest. I was very impressed. I was assuming it would be a lot like Mexican but would liken it more to Indian if anything. Fried plantains were excellent as well as the black beans. Tried the Malta India which was billed by the waitress as beer but after drinking it and subsequently reading about it online it is more akin to a soft drink as it has a negligible amount of alcohol. It was extremely sweet and was basically watered down molasses with carbonation. I guess it's an acquired taste but don't let my description dissuade you from giving it a shot. I finished off with a Cuban coffee which is an espresso shot with sugar syrup. Very strong. Very tasty!

All in all a great addition to Spartanburg's dining scene! Give it a try!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was in Wild Wing on Friday for lunch and to watch a little basketball and asked a waitress about the situation concerning the restaurant. She said that the owner had reached an agreement with corporate to keep it open as WW and do what is expected as a franchisee. She said the one in Myrtle Beach was a lost cause and he has already changed it over to a "Taters". Whether all this is true or not remains to be seen but I figured I would post it here anyway. Has anyone else heard anything recently?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I used to dine at Ruth's Chris 4-5 times a year. Not anymore. The founder, Ruth Fertel, died a few years back and the company was taken over by a large investment group. In turn they began franchising and the chain started popping up everywhere. My last visit to a Ruth's Chris was two months ago in Atlanta. The quality of the food and service wasn't what it used to be. Nevertheless, I hope the Greenville operation does well but I think you'll get a better value at Justins and hopefully the new Four Seasons.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Has anyone been to the Four Seasons yet?

Yes, my sister and her husband were visiting a couple of weeks ago, and we went. All of us agreed it was as good as the original Four Seasons. Business seems to be good as there are a lot of cars there every time I go by.

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  • 1 month later...

A couple of interesting but depressing notes while I was on the way back across town from seeing "The Dark Knight" (which by the way is very good, but very LONG). It really is ridiculous that we have had to travel 20 minutes to see a movie at a decent theater for the last 5 years. Thank goodness for the new theater coming to the east side.

1) Not that is really matters to me, but the restaurant "Kickback Cove" on the west side has closed. I never went there and figured it was doomed when it changed from Buffalo's to Kickback Cove. I am not sure if anything else will open there, but it is a good location.

2) Nga's is downtown has closed as well. I went there once and the service was awful and the prices were steep. Nothing has managed to make it there for very long which again is surprising because that too is a pretty good location.

3) Captain Tony's has been closed for the past month for renovations. I stopped in the other day for a report and one of the guys said they are going to try and reopen in the next week or so. Its pretty cool looking and they have built a new outside area. Tony is a smart businessman for doing this as he has a loyal following and with him being next to the Four Seasons his business will only grow more. Thats a good section with Tony's, the Four Seasons, and Mexico Lindo all there together.

I plan on paying a visit to the new Yanni's for lunch tomorrow and to check out the new digs. I am particularly interested to see what "Vern's" is like as well as the Wine store. I'll give a report on that the next time I post.

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Sorry to learn Nga's closed. I think the word got out pretty fast that the prices were high. I never dined there but did hear both good and bad about the place. I personally think the location stinks. There's good traffic on St. John but no energy there.

Kick Back Cove didn't try hard enough. The owner, a serious competitor at BBQ competitions around the country, could have developed a a niche restaurant. I miss Buffalos - one of my favorite chains.

Edited by Spartan
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I didn't even know Buffalo's had closed. Shows you how often I get to the west side :) I went there shortly after it had opened at it was fairly crowded. I think if they would cut open those parking lots to allow for some interconnectivity between Fuddruckers, Fatz, the Buffalo's location, etc, that it would improve that area tremendously simply by improving traffic circulation opportunities. That parking lot is a prime example of why this city needs to have a connectivity policy.

I personally think the location stinks. There's good traffic on St. John but no energy there.

That and the fact that it was a trailer. The building never screamed "hey this is a restaurant." I had always heard good things about Nga's though.

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I didn't even know Buffalo's had closed. Shows you how often I get to the west side :) I went there shortly after it had opened at it was fairly crowded. I think if they would cut open those parking lots to allow for some interconnectivity between Fuddruckers, Fatz, the Buffalo's location, etc, that it would improve that area tremendously simply by improving traffic circulation opportunities. That parking lot is a prime example of why this city needs to have a connectivity policy.

That and the fact that it was a trailer. The building never screamed "hey this is a restaurant." I had always heard good things about Nga's though.

You're thinking about Chief's on Reidville. Buffalo's was next to Rick's Car Wash.

As for Nga's, my wife and I went there one time. We sat down, and the lady taking our drink order had a ton of black dirt underneath her fingernails. We decided to dine elsewhere.

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Ah, yeah youre right. I know what you're talking about now. I got those mixed up. I assume Chief's is still there then.

Nga's was still trying to be something that can't exist in a trailer. A greasy hotdog place may do fine, but its not the place for a restaurant that wants to be any higher caliber than that. Especially within downtown. I would personally like to see all mobile home/trailers banned within downtown (except construction trailers). I would think that they are by now, since that one has been there for so long.

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