Wedding & Event Venue near Rock Hill, SC

YORK COUNTY — Schneeberger, a linear technology company with a global footprint, selected York County to establish its first South Carolina operation, the company announced July 7.

Schneeberger will lease a 42,000-square-foot facility, located at 656 Red River Road in Rock Hill. In addition to being the company's first location in South Carolina, the new operation will be Schneeberger’s first mineral cast production facility in the United States.

The $3.2 million investment will create 101 jobs over the next five years.

Founded in Switzerland in 1923, Schneeberger manufactures customized and high-precision linear technology, including linear bearings, gear racks and mineral casting for customers in the electronics, medical device and packaging industries.

"This decision reflects our confidence in the region’s exceptional workforce, robust technical training infrastructure and the area’s growing population, which together create a dynamic environment for innovation and growth," said George Blaha, Schneeberger Mineralcast president and general manager. "Rock Hill’s outstanding quality of life and welcoming community make it an ideal location for our growing business. We are especially excited to bring our sustainable, cold-casting manufacturing technology to the U.S., where we will produce high-performance equipment bases that serve a wide range of industries."

The facility is expected to be operating by the end of 2025, and prospective employees are encouraged to visit the company's careers page at schneeberger.com/en/us/career.

“We are proud to celebrate another win for South Carolina’s dynamic manufacturing industry," Gov. Henry McMaster said. "Schneeberger’s $3.2 million investment and 101 new jobs will strengthen York County’s economy and support local families. We congratulate the company and look forward to the impact they will make in the years ahead."

ROCK HILL — A popular fast-food burger chain announced plans for its first location in York County.

Whataburger is planning to open in Rock Hill by the spring of 2026, a spokesperson confirmed this week.

The Texas-based restaurant is planned for Cross Pointe Drive, off Dave Lyle Boulevard, at the former site of an O'Charley's restaurant.

Right now, Whataburger has 11 locations in South Carolina, with the closest being in Columbia and Spartanburg. The chain also expects to debut two new restaurants in the Charlotte area soon.

Swig Drinks soda shop

A soda shop made famous on social media is now open in neighboring Lancaster County, and the company announced plans to expand to Rock Hill this summer.

Swig Drinks, a drive-thru fountain soda chain based in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently opened on Worldreach Drive near the Charlotte Highway in Indian Land. Crowned as the "Home of the Original Dirty Soda," Swig is known for mixing flavors, fruits and creams to make fountain drink concoctions.

After debuting to long lines, Swig is eyeing a second location in Rock Hill.

The Warren Norman Company, a commercial real estate developer, announced Swig Drinks is the first store to sign on at the Sharonwood Shopping Center development located at the corner of Celanese and India Hook Roads in Rock Hill.

Plans call for a 700-square-foot drive-thru with construction set to start this summer.

PJ's Coffee

Adding to the variety of local places to grab a cup of java, the drive-thru chain PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans is expected to open in the summer at 3080 U.S. 21, in the Regent Towne Center anchored by Food Lion, in Fort Mill.

The company, named for founder Phyllis Jordan in 1978, provides a taste of the Bayou with beignets on the pastry menu. The coffee itself takes arabica beans and roasts them in a manner that produces a less-acidic taste than other coffees.

The Fort Mill location will be the fifth PJ's in the Palmetto state.

Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken & Wings

The fast food palette in Rock Hill could get spicier soon. Just north of Dave Lyle Boulevard, east of Interstate 77, Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken & Wings is opening its new location at 636 Crown Pointe Lane, near Target.

The chicken is served at five levels of spiciness. And the hottest level requires customers to sign a waiver.

There are a few Charlotte locations, but the Rock Hill location will be Hangry Joe’s debut in South Carolina. No opening date is available.

As Whataburger prepares to open its first restaurant in North Carolina this week, plans for one more Charlotte-area location have been unveiled — this time in Rock Hill.

The Texas-based burger chain will put its first York County location at the former O’Charley’s restaurant site, Preston Hughes, a growth market leader for Whataburger in South Carolina, told CharlotteFive. That spot sits along a busy stretch of road off Dave Lyle Boulevard, across the street from Chick-Fil-A and Ginza Buffet.

Whataburger officials have said they’ve altogether got plans in the works for about 30 locations across the Carolinas. The first South Carolina restaurant opened in July 2024 in Boiling Springs, kicking off a rapid expansion plan.

The first in North Carolina will open in Gastonia on Thursday, May 29 — and long lines are expected. A private, pre-opening event for friends and family of training crew members led to lines stretching down Franklin Boulevard, and at least one Whataburger team member expected customers to line up outside more than a day in advance.

The first 100 customers at the Gastonia location after the 9 a.m. opening will get Whataburger swag bags. After that, the restaurant will be open 24 hours a day, with breakfast served from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m., and burgers served any time.

By the end of 2025, Whataburger has planned to open a total of 10 restaurants in North Carolina, plus one in the suburban Charlotte community of Indian Land, SC. More are slated to follow quickly after:

Look for these locations opening soon:

Location: 3415 E Franklin Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28056 (opening May 29)

Location: 2265 Cross Pointe Dr, Rock Hill, SC 29730 (opening early 2026)

Location: Multiple others, opening soon

Menu

Cuisine: American, burgers, breakfast

A key piece of Rock Hill’s textile history, a prominent York County church site and nearly two dozen homes highlight the region’s biggest property deals in June.

The three-county region — York, Chester and Lancaster — had more than 30 sales last month that topped $1 million. Most of them were homes, and most of those homes were in Fort Mill.

Here’s a look, according to county land records, at the region’s most recent high-dollar deals:

? York-based company NL Ventures XIV Ratchford bought a 21-acre commercial property in York for $18 million. The June 26 sale includes a nearly 190,000-square-foot warehouse at 200 Ratchford Road. It was built in 1979. York County owned the property as recently as 2011, and it’s had several owners since.

The property is east of Kings Mountain Street, in an industrial area west of Lincoln Estates homes. This spring, The Herald reported industrial waste machinery maker Komar Industries would move Charlotte-based subsidiary Bace to the Ratchford Road site. Komar Industries recently posted on its social media that the company is hiring electricians and welders for the new site.

? Bass & McFadden, a Rock Hill company that also owns downtown retail property, bought The Old Cotton Factory on Chatham Avenue for $8 million. The nearly 6-acre Rock Hill site at Chatham and West White Street has 11 addresses, as the site has transitioned from a textile hub to a modern mix of commercial, office and retail space.

The Old Cotton Factory is a more than 95,000-square-foot brick building that was constructed in 1881. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and described there as Rock Hill’s first mill. It’s also listed as the first steam-powered textile mill in the state.

Banks & McFadden bought the 210 and 212 E. Main St. site downtown in 2015. That property has a dozen commercial sites. The Old Cotton Factory deal took place on June 13.

? Charleston-based Elmeco Properties bought a more than 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Rock Hill on June 26 for $2 million. The 2003 construction at 131 Rental Court is between Ebenezer Road and Constitution Boulevard. It’s a little more than 1 acre, one of six similar warehouse buildings on Rental Court. The site is an office for heating and cooling company Fogel Services.

? Commercial real estate company C.F. Smith Property Group out of Pinehurst, North Carolina, bought two properties on U.S. 21 in Fort Mill on June 4 for $2 million. A 4-acre property at 3099 Hwy. 21 has four commercial buildings totaling nearly 9,000 square feet of retail and storage space. More than 1 acre at 3139 Hwy. 21 sits behind the commercial piece, and has a 2,900-square-foot home on it. The two properties are across U.S. 21 from Regent Parkway, south of the Carowinds area and the North Carolina state line.

? Transformation Church bought the former Good Samaritan UMC property in Lake Wylie on June 9 for $1.9 million. Good Samaritan held services at the 5220 Crowders Cove Lane site for nearly 30 years, prominently situated at the Three Points intersection of highways 49, 274 and 557. The more than 10-acre site has seen restaurants, stores and housing developments spring up all around it in that time. Transformation Church is a nondenominational group with sites in Indian Land and Lake Wylie.

? Homebuilder Taylor Morrison bought 21 Indian Land lots off Harrisburg Road for $1.7 million. The June 24 sale involves property on Beacon Heights and Miles Gap roads.

? Codo Investments in Greenville bought 18 properties in the College Downs neighborhood of Rock Hill for $1.7 million. The June 13 sale involves rental homes on Gathings and Gilmore roads, Doby Drive and Patterson Court. The transaction moves Homes of Hope affordable housing units to Greenville-based Affordable Upstate.

? A Charlotte company with the same Steele Creek address as Jackson Orthodontics and Creekside Smiles Pediatric Dentistry bought a 3,600-square-foot medical office building in Fort Mill for $1.5 million. AM Jackson Real Estate bought the property June 16. The medical offices were built in 2000 at the intersection of Ben Casey Drive and Dave Gibson Boulevard, just off S.C. 160 West.

Of the 23 homes that sold in June for $1 million or more, 10 of them are in Fort Mill. Indian Land had five, and Tega Cay had four more. Two Springfield homes in Fort Mill sold for the highest amounts, at $1.9 million and $1.8 million.

There have now been 135 million-dollar home sales in the first half of the year. That’s well on pace to top last year’s record for a full year, at 185 homes.

Use the map below for more details on the recent sales. Blue icons are June sales. Black icons are million-dollar home deals from earlier this year.

In a collaborative effort to strengthen the landscape of affordable housing in South Carolina, Homes of Hope and Affordable Upstate have finalized the transfer of 18 single-family rental homes in Rock Hill.

This partnership safeguards the affordability of the units while supporting the continued growth and mission-driven work of both organizations, a news release stated.

The project reflects a shared vision: ensuring that South Carolina families continue to have access to stable, affordable housing — even as the region faces escalating housing costs and a significant shortage of quality affordable units, the release stated.

“This transaction will be transformational in its impact, and more importantly, incredibly stabilizing for the families living in these homes,” said Don Oglesby, president and CEO of Homes of Hope, in the release.

The homes will remain affordable under the stewardship of Affordable Upstate, whose mission is to preserve affordability through intentional ownership and community-centered housing solutions, the release stated.

This strategic decision allows Homes of Hope, a leading provider of affordable housing and workforce development in South Carolina, to maximize its capital needs while ensuring the long-term affordability of these homes for families who need them most, the release stated. The sale reflects a shared commitment to addressing the region’s deepening housing crisis through thoughtful collaboration and forward-looking solutions.

South Carolina faces a dire shortage of affordable housing, with thousands of families burdened by rising rents and limited housing options, according to the release. By transitioning ownership of the Rock Hill properties to Affordable Upstate, Homes of Hope ensures continuity in affordability while preserving the integrity of its mission and positioning itself for continued impact in the years ahead.

“Through a model that seamlessly integrates collaboration across sectors, Homes of Hope shows what’s possible when cities, nonprofits, investors, and developers unite around a shared vision,” said Mario Brown, co-founder and CEO of Affordable Upstate, in the release. “We are especially grateful for the Fieldmont Group and Clark Merritt, whose deep management experience and facilitation will play a pivotal role in preserving the legacy of affordability that Homes of Hope has established here.”

This collaboration exemplifies the type of cross-sector teamwork that is essential to solving South Carolina’s affordable housing challenges — balancing stewardship of existing assets with bold action to scale impact across communities, the release stated.

Homes of Hope is a nonprofit organization based in Greenville, dedicated to providing affordable housing solutions and economic mobility opportunities to individuals and families in need, according to the release. Since its founding in 1998, Homes of Hope has built 705 homes and graduated 337 men from the Men’s Workforce Development program, offering hope and a brighter future to the community.

Affordable Upstate is a real estate investment firm focused on redeveloping and redefining naturally occurring affordable housing in the Upstate of South Carolina, according to the release. Since 2017 they have placed over $50 million of investor equity into socially responsible, environmentally enhanced workforce housing assets, resulting in a diverse and thriving portfolio with over 1,450 apartment units that satisfy the expectations of residents, investors, and communities.