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SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Another construction project is planned to take place in downtown Spartanburg. This one pertains to a unique addition to the county’s public library.

At the corner of Broad St. and Church St. in downtown Spartanburg sits a patch of land leading up to the library.

“It’s perfect for development and growth of library services,” said Todd Stephens, Spartanburg County Librarian.

It’s a location that will soon be home to a new planetarium.

“We focused in on a planetarium domed theatre that will have about 130 seats. The dome is somewhere around 45-feet that fits within the overall structure,” said Stephens.

On Monday, Stephens presented the proposed library upgrade to county council, which responded with excitement.

“I think from a Spartanburg County standpoint, this fits into our plan of helping enhance our central business district, our downtown area as much as we can contribute to that. I think this is another great feather in our cap of our ever-growing and ever-popular downtown,” said Manning Lynch, Spartanburg County Council Chairman. “It sounds like a fantastic project for Spartanburg and we are excited about it.”

It’s a multi-million dollar construction project, that’s currently in the fundraising process.

“We are still fundraising. We have raised about $3 million and we have another $5 million that we have to bring in to the project as well as some other funds,” said Stephens.

Once complete, it will feature a unique learning experience unlike any other.

“Think of a movie theatre where the screen is over your head and the seating allows you to have an immersive experience. You can have a projection of the planets and we can go back in time and look at how the planets were aligned in a certain time period,” said Stephens. “It delivers information in a new way. It’s an opportunity for us to spark the interest in a young person, but at the same time continue to enhance and add to the quality of life for folks who are living in Spartanburg.”

It’s an experience, the librarian said, for all ages.

“I think it’s a wonderful education opportunity and it will be a great draw, and parents will have something to do with their kids,” said Lynch.

According to Spartanburg County Public Libraries, they are planning to bring in speakers to discuss the displays, as well as show educational movies on the screen.

Project leaders hope to begin construction on the planetarium by the end of this year.

CHEF’STORE Offers a Warehouse-Style Shopping Experience Designed To Provide Restaurant Operators, Foodservice Professionals and the Public Convenient Access to Restaurant-Quality Products and Supplies at Competitive Prices

ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) announced today its plan to open a new US Foods CHEF’STORE® in Spartanburg, S.C. Located at 300 W. Blackstock Rd., the new 33,000-square-foot CHEF’STORE will join three existing CHEF’STORE locations across South Carolina.

CHEF’STORE is a one-stop-shop for restaurant operators, food industry professionals, community groups and at-home chefs to quickly stock up or replenish ingredients and supplies in various sizes and offerings. The store will offer more than 4,000 restaurant-quality products at competitive prices, including fresh meat, produce, dairy, deli items and frozen seafood. Customers will also be able to shop for baking ingredients, beverages, catering essentials, janitorial supplies and other restaurant essentials. CHEF’STORE is open to the public seven days a week and no membership is required.

“We are excited to join the ‘Hub City’,” said John Mathews, vice president of sales and marketing for CHEF’STORE. “Spartanburg is a thriving city with a vibrant restaurant and culinary scene, and we look forward to serving the community with competitively priced, restaurant-quality products.”

Spartanburg is the fourth CHEF’STORE location in South Carolina. The three existing CHEF’STORE locations are in Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Columbia. The new CHEF’STORE Spartanburg is scheduled to open in Fall 2022.

US Foods acquired Smart Foodservice Warehouse stores in April 2020 to accelerate growth in the cash and carry market and rebranded all Smart Foodservice Warehouse stores to US Foods CHEF’STORE in February of 2021. With the addition of the Spartanburg location, US Foods will have 83 CHEF’STORE locations across the continental United States.

To learn more about CHEF’STORE, visit www.CHEFSTORE.com.

About CHEF’STORE

CHEF’STORE offers a customer-centric, warehouse-format shopping experience for wholesale food and restaurant supplies at competitive prices. Designed as a one-stop-shop for restaurant operators and foodservice professionals, CHEF’STORE is also an option for non-profit organizations and the public, and no membership is required. CHEF’STORE locations feature an assortment of thousands of food products including fresh meat, produce, dairy, and deli items. Customers will also be able to shop for grocery products, beverages, catering essentials, janitorial supplies, and other restaurant essentials. CHEF’STORE is owned by US Foods and offers 80 locations nationwide across 12 states. Visit CHEFSTORE.com to learn more.

About US Foods

With a promise to help its customers Make It, US Foods is one of America’s great food companies and a leading foodservice distributor, partnering with approximately 250,000 restaurants and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed. With 69 broadline locations and more than 80 cash and carry stores, US Foods and its 28,000 associates provides its customers with a broad and innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions. US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill. Visit www.usfoods.com to learn more.

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – 17 people were arrested and 22 people were wanted following a drug round-up in Spartanburg County.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office identified 39 people who were selling fentanyl, methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin during a year-long investigation.

“A lot of times when we get one person, you can get three to four more with that if you just be a little patient, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do,” said Sheriff Wright.

According to the sheriff’s office, the following 17 suspects of the suspects were arrested and charged:

Sheriff Wright said they can’t control how long people stay behind bars, but the ones arrested are off the streets for now.

“I hear people talking all the time about how quickly they get in and out of jail, you know, that’s not our fault. Our job is to put them in jail, do the investigation, listen to our complaints,” said Sheriff Wright.

Sheriff Wright said the majority of suspects are wanted for methamphetamine.

“We as a community and a society, we’re going to have to do a lot better job of um, we just gotta do better,” he said.

The following people are still wanted on drug charges by the sheriff’s office:

Out of the 39 people named, 22 people are still wanted by the sheriff’s office.

“They’re at-large and I don’t know if anybody is really running from us, they, we just can’t find them because a lot of times, when you’re dealing drugs, you’ve got 10 or 12 places you can be in one day,” said Sheriff Wright.

Deputies are still actively searching to find the wanted suspects.

“We’re just scratching the surface with these, right here. There’s plenty more and we’re going to try to get them,” he said.

Sheriff Wright said as summer approaches, he wants people to have a safe summer, free of drugs.

“If your face isn’t up here and you’re dealing drugs, don’t think you’ve gotten away with it just yet,” he said.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the people mentioned above is asked to contact the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

SPARTANBURG — Architectural design work continues on a proposed $75 million downtown development scheduled to begin construction in early 2023 on East Main Street.

Greenville-based developer M Peters Group was granted preliminary conceptual approval by Spartanburg’s Design Review Board on May 3. The project includes an 11-story building with 160 apartments and 200 parking spaces. Two seven-story buildings are proposed to be constructed on either side of the 11-story building. Plans include 20,000-square-feet of retail space to be featured on the ground floor with apartments and condos on the upper floors.

Travis Paul, M Peters Group vice president, said the final drawings will be completed in about 10 months.

“Right now the main thing is working through the design phase,” Paul said. “It’s such a big design process with in-depth drawings. We will work with the architects to finalize drawings and begin working with contractors on construction.”

Paul said updates on the final design process will be provided to the Design Review Board. M Peters Group plans to begin construction on the project during the second quarter of 2023. The developer will use existing facades from 127 E. Main St. to 163 E. Main St. as part of the overall design process.

Kathy Silverman, who owns Hub City Scoops and The Local Hiker on East Main Street, said the new development will boost business downtown. She hopes there will be adequate parking to accommodate all the growth.

“The project looks well thought out and will be a positive improvement on Main Street,” Silverman said. “There will be more residents and people working downtown.”

Delaney’s Irish Pub owner Brian Greene supports the project. Greene’s restaurant at West Main Street is just a few blocks from where the new development is planned.

“We are super excited about it,” Greene said. “Anytime you have a business downtown and you are talking about putting 200 residential units and possibly 400 to 500 people just a few (blocks) away from you it’s super exciting. With construction going on the next couple of years, any negative effects of the construction will be far outweighed when the project gets done.”

Greene called the project’s design “innovative” and appreciated developers using existing facades instead of demolishing all the buildings at the site.

The project includes alleyways connecting East Main Street with Broad Street. Mayor Jerome Rice said shops will be located along the alleyways, providing more opportunities for area residents to shop.

“The design is something new and different than what we are used to seeing downtown,” Rice said. “It’s just going to be another opportunity for jobs and residents living downtown. That whole block of downtown Spartanburg will be changed and in about a year, if everything moves forward as planned, they should be moving dirt.”

City Councilwoman Erica Brown said the project’s retail space will offer small businesses more opportunities for success.

“We will be able to grow our restaurant and retail space downtown,” Brown said. “I like the design and appreciate they are honoring the past by maintaining some of the facades of those buildings.”

For Spartanburg County Librarian Todd Stephens, when it comes to new ways to educate and entertain, the sky's the limit.

At Monday night's Spartanburg County Council meeting, Stephens announced a planned planetarium that would be adjacent to the downtown library and across Church Street from the new city-county government complex when it is built.

"By the end of the year, we should be able to turn dirt," Stephens said.

"Our young people need to have continued ongoing intellectual stimulation that builds a degree of wonderment," he explained. "We need to — as a community and public library — provide opportunities for those who have chosen to stay in Spartanburg."

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Stephens said a three-level, 10,000-square-foot planetarium will cost roughly $8 million to $10 million. Already, he said $3 million in private donations has been raised, and there is roughly $5 million from a bond re-issuance for the Inman Public Library project.

"That corner has bothered me for a long time," he said of the lawn between the library and South Church and Broad streets. "I've had it studied for everything from a public art space to a plaza."

Last spring, he said pledges began to be made for the project.

County Council members reacted with enthusiasm.

"I think Todd is a real asset to Spartanburg County," Council Chairman Manning Lynch said. "I'm real excited what it's going to mean to that entrance corridor downtown. With the city-county complex across the street, it's a real transformation to that block."

Councilman David Britt was on County Council when the current library headquarters opened in April 1997.

"The timing and placement of this project is perfect and fits into our upward trajectory into the future," Britt said. "We have only just begun to see where Spartanburg is heading, and the library system's leadership just put us in high gear."

Councilman Monier Abusaft said he also supports the project, adding that it will help extend the prosperous downtown area toward the city's south side, which he said needs the economic boost.

Mayor Jerome Rice said he supports the project, saying it will be "another amenity to our city to bring more folks and bring more eyes on Spartanburg.

"The location will be great," Rice said. "With all the new additions that will be forthcoming — a new city hall and $80 million investment on (East) Main Street — we have a lot of momentum to bring people downtown."

Stephens said the new Fairforest Middle School in School District 6 has a planetarium and science center, with seating for 108 students.

Greenville has the Roper Mountain Science Center features the Hooper Planetarium, which is open to the public for laser shows. It features a new 360-degree full immersion dome, 4K projection, state-of-the-art lighting and 5.1 surround sound.

And the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia features a 55-foot digital dome planetarium with astronomy shows, programs focused on art, history and laser light shows.

Stephens said the Spartanburg planetarium will borrow some of those features, with a 45-foot dome and seating for roughly 130 people.

"We're putting forth something that people travel to other parts of the country to enjoy," he said. "What we're doing is bringing something here for people to come here. The economic impact is tremendous with shopping, eating."

County Councilwoman Jessica Coker said a planetarium makes a statement to the younger residents and everyone else who pursues learning.

"This is exactly what I envisioned when I speak of county council’s ability to help support education of our kids," she said. "We need more of this, and I can’t wait to see how we can find additional solutions that further education. A special thank-you to Todd and the library board for bringing this to us."