STATUS: Revitalization complete

Drayton Mills now includes 14 businesses and luxury lofts

“Events at Drayton Mills” is now “Eighteen Hundred Drayton Catering & Events.”

The former wedding and catering venue at Drayton Mills, a “live-work-play” campus created on the site of a defunct textile mill at 1800 Drayton Road in Spartanburg, is being reworked.

Bob Munnich, former chief operating officer of Larkin’s Restaurant Group, has leased the facility and will now recast the 35,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor space into a “robust” catering business, he said.

Munnich’s initial focus is on building out a state-of-the-art kitchen, setting the table for a venue capable of hosting private dinners for 20 to 300 and receptions accommodating 500.

A public grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 6, the same day as Drayton Mills’ final installment of its 2019 summer concert series.

Munnich is owner, manager, and master chef of the new enterprise.

“My intention is to make this the backbone of my catering business. … This is my sole focus right now,” Munnich said.

Munnich joined Larkin’s Restaurant Group in 2005 and was instrumental in the development of Larkin’s Catering & Events as well as Larkin’s on the River, Grill Marks, and Limoncello.

In all, Munnich helped grow Larkin’s from two to seven locations under five brands, with a total of about 20,000 square feet of events space in three locations.

Established by TMS Development in November 2018, the former Events at Drayton Mills was conceived as part of a larger retail-and-commercial complex within walking distance of 289 apartment units on the grounds of the historic mill.

Eighteen Hundred Drayton Catering & Events is one of 14 businesses now operating in the marketplace.

“From our luxury loft apartments to the businesses in our marketplace, Drayton is bustling with activity,” a news release quoted Tara Sherbert, managing principal of TMS Development and owner of the property, as saying.

“The event venue draws thousands of visitors to Drayton each month, and under Bob’s leadership, we expect that activity to continue to blossom as the community embraces Eighteen Hundred Drayton,” she said.

Drayton Mills

• Operated from 1902-1994

• The original mill housed the spinning operations and a second mill, built in 1929, housed the weaving operations.

• The mill’s architectural plans by Lockwood, Greene, & Co. are housed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

• Ground broke on redevelopment in 2014. The new Drayton Mills site has the Drayton Mills luxury lofts and these 14 businesses:

  • • Bella Latte

    • Burn Boot Camp of Spartanburg

    • Edward Jones

    • 1800 Drayton Catering & Events

    • Holliday Brewing

    • Hypersign

    • Mozza Roasters and Melotte Enterprises Inc.

    • Palmetto Proactive Healthcare

    • Pi-Squared Pizza

    • Seamon Whiteside

    • Sparkle City Chiropractic

    • The Lauren Ashtyn Collection

    • The Lauren Ashtyn Collection Salon & Extension Bar Spartanburg

    • The Standard: A Refined Kitchen

Read about other Upstate mills revitalization updates

Revitalized Taylors Mill will be ‘year-round’ gathering space | New Elements revitalize struggling old mill village | Construction begins on Judson Mill’s transformation into multi-use space | Chapel aims to weave into Poe Mill | Greer Mill’s adaptive reuse project moving through rezoning process | Conestee Mill securing retail and office tenants | Woodside Mill, Greenville’s largest former mill, set for redevelopment—again