Mike Shuler, owner of Smoke on the Water, has watched downtown Greenville grow and change over the 20 years he’s operated the popular West End restaurant.
Now he has a change of his own. On Jan. 14, he announced the restaurant would leave downtown and move to 64 Beacon Drive in East Greenville, near Pelham Road and Interstate 85.
The restaurant’s last day in the West End will be March 24. An opening date for the new location hasn’t been set.
Hints of a move from the prominent location at 1 Augusta St. first emerged last March. Atlantic South Development, the building’s owner, and the Greenville office of commercial real estate company Avison Young were planning for the possible departure of the mainstay eatery.
The building at the split of Main and Augusta streets is among the most recognizable spots in downtown Greenville. It is adorned with a large mural featuring the words “Welcome To The West End.”
Shuler said over the past six months, the team has looked for a new space that would keep the familiar feel of the self-proclaimed “saucy Southern tavern,” but add a sense of newness.
In conjunction with Creative Builders, Shuler is working with the restaurant’s original interior designer, Kitzi Craig, to style the new location.
“When we opened, we were trying to be a place that was comfortable for everybody, whether you came in with shorts and T-shirts or you came in a suit,” Shuler said. “So we really want to keep that same [feel].”
He said the new space needed to be more than 5,000 square feet to accommodate his catering business. It will offer options for outdoor dining and and indoor-outdoor bar, and the possibility of a stage for live music.
Shuler is determined to keep his staff, several of whom have worked at the restaurant for more than a decade.
“The biggest issue is just trying to get open as fast as we can,” he said. “So that way the staff is not unemployed or looking elsewhere. That’s been my number one concern.”
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Diners can look forward to the classics as well as new menu options. Shuler said prime rib will be back full-time, and Sunday brunch will be offered at the new location.
Despite the change, Shuler said he looks forward to the future while acknowledging the sadness of saying goodbye to the first home of Smoke on the Water.
