For the past nine months, Spartanburg residents have eagerly awaited the arrival of a beer garden on the city’s east side.
Those dreams came to an end Tuesday. But local diners will still have something delicious to look forward to.
Owners of the Greer-based restaurant Guacamole Mexican Grill have signed a lease on the 4,000-square-foot building at 1071 Fernwood Glendale Road behind Hillcrest Shopping Center that formerly housed Roots Deep South Eats and Four Seasons Steakhouse.
“We are definitely excited,” said Genesis Gomez, one of Guacamole’s four owners. “With any business, you always have a little fear of the unknown. But you’ve got to be willing to take a shot.”
Gomez said the Spartanburg restaurant will be about twice the size of the original location that he and his partners opened at 103 E. Wade Hampton Blvd. in 2013.
He said the ownership plans to go a little more upscale with the location store, which could potentially seat up to 300 customers.
Gomez said he anticipates hiring least 30 people for the location. He said those interested in applying can visit the Greer location.
The owners chose to bring their concept to Spartanburg after recognizing a need for more restaurants in the community, Gomez said.
“We see the potential [in Spartanburg],” he said.
Gomez said renovation work on the building, which was damaged by two fires in one day in December 2015, will soon begin. He hopes the restaurant will open later this year.
Guacamole’s menu features authentic Mexican tacos, enchiladas, fresh salads, homemade soups, burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, quesadillas, tortas, seafood platters and other dishes.
“I am very excited to have them,” said the building’s owner and Spartanburg restaurateur Billy Diangikes. “I have been to their restaurant [in Greer]. It was very good. I’m going to do anything I can to help them be successful. We definitely need more great restaurants on the east side.”
Diangikes said he hopes to break his run of “bad luck” with the building that started in February 2015, when it was allegedly vandalized and set on fire by the former co-owner of Roots.
He said he was just days away from welcoming a new tenant—Upstate Beer Garden Restaurant & Social Haus—when the second round of fires broke out on Christmas Eve in the morning and then later that afternoon.
Diangikes said those fires, which were later determined to have originated from an electrical short, caused heavy damage to the building and eventually tanked the beer garden plans.
“Fortunately, these owners stepped in,” said Diangikes. “I think they will do well.”
Patty Bock, economic development directory for the city of Spartanburg, said she too has dined at Guacamole’s location in Greer and is looking forward to the restaurant’s arrival on the east side.
“I believe they are a strong addition to the Hillcrest Shipping Center area,” she said. “We’re supportive of any new business that comes to the city, but with their food and commitment to excellent customer service, I think they are well-positioned.”
Guacamole is the fourth Mexican restaurant concept to commit to locations within the city since May.
Those eateries include Papa’s and Beer and Nacho Taco, which have already opened, and Mezcal, a concept similar to Rosa Mexicano in Atlanta that is planned for the 126-year-old Lundy Building in downtown.
Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina is expected to be part of a development in the county that is under construction off Highway 9 in Boiling Springs beside the new Dollar General.
Bock said the city’s positive trend in hospitality tax revenue should give the owners of Guacamole even more reason to be optimistic about their future.
In 2015, those revenues increase by 7.8 percent, while the downtown area saw a 13 percent increase.
Guacamole will join a row of restaurants along the Fernwood Glendale road corridor that includes Dudley’s, Fratello’s Pizzeria and Mothers.
“Restaurants do well in this retail corridor and have a loyal following, particularly form the nearby neighborhoods and businesses as well,” Bock said. “We have seen an interest by brokers and developers looking for opportunities that can bring more shops and restaurants here so the timing was ideal for Guacamole to secure one of the few sites available that has an existing kitchen. We look forward to their opening and hope that their success draws more businesses to the city.”
For information, visit www.guacamolemxgrill.com.
