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GREENVILLE — A popular downtown Greenville restaurant known for its particular brand of gelato and the warmth of the family who ran it has closed.

The owners of Luna Rosa Gelato Cafe announced Jan. 2 they have permanently shuttered their two restaurant locations, at 123 S. Main St. downtown and 306 N. Main St. Mauldin.

The restaurant is owned by Lauren and Jose Ortiz and Lauren’s parents, Linda and Richard Schweitzer.

Lauren Ortiz confirmed the news in a text.

In the farewell message on social media, the owners, who called the closure “nothing short of devastating,” addressed the loyal patrons they refer to as the Luna Rosa Famiglia.

“We’ve been through it all with you,” they wrote. “We’ve celebrated 15 years of birthdays, anniversaries, wine dinners, movie nights, and openings. And we’ve weathered just as many storms, illnesses, power outages, and other uncertainties with you at our side. But it is with heavy hearts that we say our journey has come to an end.”

The message didn’t specify a reason for the closure.

Luna Rosa first opened 15 years ago in a West Washington Street storefront when Ortiz was pregnant with her eldest child.

Following a longtime dream, the owners in 2019 moved the restaurant to a Main Street storefront across the street from the Poinsett Hotel.

In the early stages of the pandemic, the family moved to takeout-only in the interest of safety for their staff and themselves.

As concerns eased, the family opened a second restaurant in Mauldin in early 2021, developing a whole new set of regulars and fans who came for the popular roasted tomato and eggplant bisque and “Mom’s spaghetti and meatballs.”

“This incredible, giving, resilient community is what has kept our doors open for so many years,” they wrote in their farewell message. “Your generosity saw us through a pandemic that otherwise would have doubtlessly taken us under, and your continued support carried us through the staffing crisis in spite of it. What may have started as a family business soon opened our hearts to embrace each of you as part of our Luna Rosa Famiglia, and we could not be more grateful for the love we received in return.”

GREENVILLE — A proposal to build a multipurpose stadium along Interstate 385 in Mauldin may soon be reconsidered by county leaders.

The stadium would serve as the home soccer pitch for Greenville Triumph SC. The club fields the Greenville Triumph, a professional USL League One team, and the pre-professional Greenville Liberty, which competes in the USL W League.

Supporters of the project plan to attend a Greenville County Council meeting on March 21. No action is listed on the council’s agenda for the meeting.

Greenville Triumph SC ownership, led by co-owner and chairman Joe Erwin, made a pitch to County Council in 2022 to build a $39 million stadium as part of the new BridgeWay Station development off Bridges Road in Mauldin. The council’s finance committee squashed the plan in a 3-2 vote that prevented County Administrator Joe Kernell from discussing a possible contract with the club.

Since then, four new members have been elected to the council. Dan Tripp, who represents the district where the stadium would be built, is now the council’s chairman.

The club is preparing to make a new pitch for a slightly larger stadium similar in design and location to the previous plan, Erwin said March 17.

Erwin said he is hopeful to present his plan to the council’s finance committee soon. The committee is next scheduled to meet March 27.

“We’ve been working very, very hard … on this initiative for the multisports stadium, which will also hold events, entertainment, something good for everyone everywhere in the county,” Erwin said. “We are making progress.”

A permanent stadium is critical to the success of any professional sports team, Erwin said. Otherwise, the team is never able to unlock the full revenue streams it needs to turn a profit, he said. Erwin said if the stadium was approved soon it could be open sometime during the 2024 season.

“I think (Erwin) has great support from the county, from Mauldin, potentially from the state, so I think the pieces are falling into place,” said Bill Fox, a senior account director with the Hughes Agency who is working with the club on the project. “The issue is, it’s kind of do-or-die. If the stadium’s going to happen, it’s going to have to happen now.”

Upstate South Carolina residents and businesses can soon experience WOW!'s multi-gig speeds and full suite of advanced services

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone (NYSE: WOW), a leading broadband services provider, today announced construction of its all-fiber network is well underway and the company anticipates offering its high-speed Internet services to consumers in Mauldin, South Carolina in the coming months.

On the heels of leasing a facility in Greenville County to support local operations and welcoming WOW! veteran Dominick Silvio into the role of local director, WOW! is making swift progress toward bringing its comprehensive portfolio of products and services to the Upstate region in the near future. WOW!'s expansion into South Carolina is part of the company's continued initiative to build new markets non-adjacent to its existing network and deliver its advanced fiber technology and award-winning customer service to residents across its growing footprint. With these expansions, WOW! plans to reach 400,000 new homes passed by 2027, increasing its total passings by 21%.

"Since announcing our plans to bring WOW!'s state-of-the-art services and offer additional choice and flexibility for broadband options to Upstate South Carolina less than a year ago, we've made tremendous progress toward activating our first customers in the region," said Robert DiNardo, corporate SVP of market expansion at WOW!. "We're thrilled to bring our blazing fast speeds to consumers and delight them with our dedication to being a positive force in the community and offering outstanding customer service."

Residents in Mauldin, followed by additional Greenville County communities including Five Forks, Fountain Inn, Piedmont and Simpsonville, will soon be able to stay connected with WOW!'s all-fiber network and fastest speeds available, including residential symmetrical Internet speeds up to 5 Gbps. Subscribers will receive the necessary equipment upfront to get started along with WiFi at no extra cost, unlimited data, and no annual contracts. WOW! will also offer WOW tv+, reliable home phone plans, and WOW! mobile powered by Reach.

To learn more about WOW!, and to find out if its services are available in your area, please visit www.wowway.com.

About WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone

WOW! is one of the nation's leading broadband providers, with an efficient and high-performing network that passes nearly 2 million residential, business and wholesale consumers. WOW! provides services in 15 markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, including the new all-fiber network in Central Florida. With an expansive portfolio of advanced services, including high-speed Internet services, cable TV, home phone, mobile phone, business data, voice, and cloud services, the company is dedicated to providing outstanding service at affordable prices. WOW! also serves as a leader in exceptional human resources practices, having been recognized nine times by the National Association for Business Resources as a Best & Brightest Company to Work For in the Nation, winning the award for the last five consecutive years and making the 2022 Top 101 National Winners list. Visit wowway.com for more information.

SOURCE WideOpenWest, Inc.

For most growing cities and towns, not having a traditional downtown might prove a handicap, but for Mauldin that lack has turned into opportunity.

Through forward-looking zoning and land-use policies, the city’s leaders are reimagining what defines community and are using the generational shift in what people want from where they live, work and play to attract a series of marquee projects that have put Mauldin in the vanguard of the Upstate’s most desirable places to be.

The challenges of growth

Like every municipality in Greenville County, Mauldin is absorbing a historic influx of new residents and the businesses needed to serve them. According to Community Development Director J.R. Charles, this poses both challenges and opportunities.

With the county expected to attract as many as 250,000 new residents in the next decade, Charles says one of the biggest challenges is developing the housing needed to accommodate so many people.

“We’re going to have to have housing for every demographic,” he says.

Developers and homebuilders are bringing new projects online in record numbers to meet demand, according to David Dyrhaug, Mauldin director of business and development services.

“We’re in the midst of seeing more homes being built in Mauldin than probably at any one time ever before,” he says.

“We’re in the midst of seeing more homes being built in Mauldin than probably at any one time ever before.” – David Dyrhaug

To illustrate the jump in activity, Dyrhaug says the city averaged about 2,000 building inspections a year in 2017, while 2022 saw more than 18,000 inspections.

Many of those new projects reflect a generational shift in the types of homes people are looking for, according to Seth Duncan, Mauldin’s city administrator.

Townhomes and small lots are increasingly prevalent as both retirees and young families seek housing with fewer maintenance demands. Duncan says the trend is driving a shift to build “up, not out.”

That trend toward more density and the accompanying shift in where people want to spend their time — not at home but out on trails and in parks or enjoying restaurants, shops and entertainment venues such density supports — is the driving force behind such major Mauldin projects as BridgeWay Station, Maverick Station and City Center Village, Duncan says.

“We’re going to be very quickly a city that didn’t have any downtown to having three specific, unique little communities,” he says.

The urban village

That outcome was no accident.

Recognizing growth patterns and how not having a traditional downtown to act as a development magnet might be a handicap, Mauldin’s leaders created a new zoning district — the urban village.

Duncan says the reality is Mauldin is in a competitive market that is striving to attract residents and businesses that have a range of options when coming to the Upstate.

Recognizing that, the city is using form-based zoning like the urban-village district to attract the kinds of projects people want, and no other project in the city represents that approach better, at least in terms of scale, than BridgeWay Station.

The project is being built by Greenville developer Phil Hughes, founder of Hughes Investments.

The 40-acre development adjacent to Interstate 385 is rapidly taking shape as a purpose-built town center incorporating a range of residential, retail and restaurant, office, and entertainment options meant to be a self-contained community that will be a regional destination.

Hughes says while “vision” is an evocative word to describe the Italianate, old-world design behind the project, the real driving force for BridgeWay Station is practical.

“We just try to give people what we think they want,” he says. “It’s really about that simple.”

But that “simple” aim is based on two extremely pertinent observations: Urban centers offer a concentration of attractions people find appealing, and suburban areas generally offer more space and proximity to a lot more people.

“We’re trying to put the best of downtown with the best of the suburbs,” says Hughes.

In the same vein but on a smaller scale are two other Mauldin projects, City Center Village, and within that, Maverick Station. Both are being developed by The Parker Group and, like BridgeWay Station, are designed to be destinations in and of themselves. The mixed-use projects combine residential, retail and entertainment options that are expected to become popular community hubs.

Drew Parker says the City Center project was a chance to address Mauldin’s lack of a traditional downtown, and he and his team were intrigued by both the opportunities and challenges of placemaking.

“It struck me as the perfect place to build community,” Parker says.

Phase I of the project is complete with the development of Maverick Station, which offers office and restaurant options, including Sully’s Steamers and Bohemian Bull. Phase II will begin later this summer and involve construction of townhomes and a communal space known as Maverick Yards, within which will be a collection of pickleball courts known as The Pickle Yard.

Parker says he envisions the projects will serve as a catalyst for further development that will see City Center Village become a true community hub.

“My goal with this is to kick things off,” he says. “My hope is other developers will see the value of Mauldin and the community we’re creating.”

Here’s a rundown of some of Mauldin’s most recent and significant developments aimed at meeting a mix of needs:

MAULDIN, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Mauldin City Council announced it has approved a $38.1 million budget for 2024 that maintains service delivery without increasing property taxes.

The budget includes the following:

This also includes a merit pool that allows supervisors to award an average of 3% merit increase to City employees.

Officials said the budget includes a sewer maintenance fee increase for both residential and commercial customers--the first such increase since Fiscal Year 2014--that will allow the City to offset the rising cost of service delivery and continue to maintain and upgrade sewer infrastructure.

Under the new fee structure, residential sewer customers will see a flat monthly fee of $11.50 starting July 1, which will replace the City’s current two-tiered fee system of $5.43 for less than 2,700 gallons per month (gpm) used and $10.19 for more than 2,700 gpm used. The new flat fee will be reflected in August bills.

Commercial customers will see a sewer maintenance fee increase of 15% across all meter types.

“We’re proud to pass a balanced budget that maintains service delivery and makes strategic reinvestments in our community without raising property taxes” Mayor Terry Merritt said. “Many thanks go out to City staff for carefully crafting a budget that meets the needs of our growing City and facilitates future growth in alignment with City Council’s priorities, despite rising costs across the board.”

The $38.1 million budget figure is a 16.1% decrease from the $45.4 million budget in Fiscal Year 2023 due to the City intending to borrow less money for major capital projects in the new fiscal year and no additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money expected from the federal government.

The City has managed to control spending despite a verity of financial challenges including persistently high inflation, higher property and casualty insurance rates, pension costs and utility rates that have resulted in an increase in personnel costs, operational and maintenance costs, and costs for capital acquisition.

“This budget seeks to maximize the utility of every dollar received and spent while achieving results for the residents of our City,” Merritt said. “We remain committed to building a vibrant community focused on healthy living, safety and well-being, economic prosperity and development, strategic reinvestment, and infrastructure improvements.”

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