New Businesses

Vibez Bar & Lounge covers a lot of ground for one spot on Wade Hampton Boulevard in Taylors. It works as a cocktail bar, a place to catch a game, a lounge to settle into, and a night club, so the kind of night you have there depends on when you show up. It keeps evening hours, open Tuesday through Thursday until midnight and running later into Friday and Saturday nights. Priced in the mid range, it is set up for cocktails and a night out that runs late rather than a sit-down dinner.

Zorba East Lounge is a cocktail bar in Taylors, just northeast of Greenville. It keeps a bar's hours rather than a kitchen's, opening in the afternoon and running late most nights, which makes it an evening and after-dinner stop more than a daytime one. The pour leans to mixed cocktails, and by its reviews it has built a steady local following on that side of the Upstate.

Whiskeys is the kind of easygoing neighborhood bar the Taylors crowd treats as its own, a low-key spot on the Wade Hampton corridor that opens late morning and stays open until two, seven nights a week. The feel sits somewhere between a dive and a sports bar, the sort of room where a newcomer and a longtime regular end up in the same conversation and the company matters as much as the drink in front of you. What keeps the week busy is the calendar. Karaoke is the signature draw, backed by game nights and daily specials, so there is usually a reason to turn up beyond the standard pour, and the prices stay friendly enough that the same faces keep coming back. The kitchen holds its own too. Bar food is the lane here, and the wings are what people bring up first. One customer ordered a hundred of them for a Fourth of July weekend and was still raving about it afterward, which tells you most of what you need to know about how they land.

Swampy Dog Social + Bar leans on the "social" in its name: a laid-back gathering spot on the South Main stretch in downtown Travelers Rest, built more around good company over a drink than a big night out. It reads as an easygoing neighborhood bar, the sort of low-key place that suits meeting up with friends or settling in on your own while you are out on Main Street.

Order a pour at the bar or pull cans and bottles from the retail shelves to take home, because the place is built to work both ways. Around twenty rotating taps cover the craft beer, there is a nitro line in the mix, and several wines by the glass sit next to a curated bottle selection you can drink on site or carry out. It sits right on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in downtown Travelers Rest, with onsite parking and trail access, so a good share of the crowd rolls in straight off the path. The covered patio is set up for year-round use, ceiling fans for the summer and heaters when it turns cold, and both kids and dogs are welcome. Not everyone at the table is drinking beer, so the bar keeps non-alcoholic options like kombucha and craft soda on hand. To go alongside a glass there is cheese and charcuterie, plus popsicles when the weather calls for one. The week here has a rhythm: live music on Thursday evenings, a group run on the trail on Wednesdays, and trivia nights that lean local. Service-industry workers get a cut on their tab on Mondays, which is also one of the few days a lot of nearby spots stay closed.

The Station is a bar and grill on NE Main Street in Simpsonville, a casual Upstate spot that runs a full bar alongside a food menu. It keeps late hours, opening around midday during the week and by late morning on weekends, with the bar open until 2 a.m. every night. That makes it an easy place to land for a bite early on or a drink long after most of Main Street has shut for the night.

Clock Tower Taproom & Billiards puts two things under one roof in Simpsonville: a taproom built around what is on tap, and billiards tables for anyone who wants a game to go with the beer. The pairing makes it more of a place to settle into than a spot to pass through. It sits on South Main Street, on the Simpsonville side of the Upstate, and keeps things casual and social. Good company for an unhurried night out with friends, a few racks of pool, and working through the tap list.

The ribs are what people keep coming back to at Sherby's, called out over and over in reviews for the flavor and for how much you get at the price. The Sherby burger has its own following, and the wings hold up just as well, with the bourbon wings landing as a repeat favorite. Inside, it reads as a classic neighborhood pub that runs bigger than the plain exterior suggests, with room for a couple of pool tables, dart boards, a long bar, and enough TVs to keep a game on. The walls carry the kind of lived-in clutter that builds up over years: Irish odds and ends, beer steins, sports memorabilia, and photos of the people who drink here. It gets loud once it fills, which most take as a good sign. The food stays honest pub fare, the draft selection is solid, and people describe the prices as fair. It pulls a genuine local crowd, the sort of place where you tend to run into someone you know, and a regular trivia night gives the room a reason to gather. You will find it just off the Fairview exit of I-385, sitting in the Fairview Road shopping stretch with easy parking when you arrive.

Set in downtown Simpsonville a few steps off Main Street, Unterhausen spreads across two floors, and the one people come back for is the cellar downstairs. It is a small room with only a handful of tables and the old-world charm reviewers keep mentioning, and it fills up fast once the doors open for the evening. The pull is German. There is a deep list of German beers alongside a wine selection visitors rate just as highly, and a kitchen sending out bratwurst and sauerkraut, German potato salad, soft pretzels, Reuben paninis, and charcuterie boards built for sharing over a pint. One side dish comes up again and again: the pickled red cabbage, which shows up in review after review as something people order on purpose. Part of the draw is the host, too. Guests describe an owner who works the room, stops by tables, and has been known to send over a toast or a birthday song in German. A night here runs long and unhurried, a few small tables underground, a full glass, and food that has visitors calling it the closest taste of Germany they have found in the Upstate.

1885 Taproom runs a bar and a full kitchen side by side, so it covers both a drink after work and a sit-down dinner. The beer garden adds outdoor seating for warmer evenings, and the grill keeps the food a real part of the visit rather than an afterthought. It is the kind of easygoing Simpsonville spot a group can settle into for a few rounds and a meal without having to choose between the two.

The Bohemian Bull concept started as a beer garden on James Island in Charleston in 2013, built around a burger-heavy menu and the easygoing, bohemian feel the name nods to. The Mauldin location brings that same idea to the Upstate: a lively, open room made for settling in rather than rushing through dinner. Inside it reads as a laid-back local tavern, with a patio out back for warm evenings and games on for anyone who came to watch. It works about equally well for a family dinner, friends catching up over beers, or one person eating at the bar. Burgers and beer are the main event. The kitchen sends out juicy, generously topped burgers next to a full bar that leans on craft beer, a deep bourbon list, and cocktails. Worth knowing: the printed drink menu doesn't always show everything on tap, so if the beer list looks short, ask what else is pouring. Wednesday is half-price burger night. Past the burgers, the starters pull their weight, with parmesan truffle fries, crispy fried mac and cheese, and a whipped feta plate with brussels sprouts among the items reviewers single out.

Step into RiffRaff on West Wade Hampton Boulevard and you are in a proper Greer dive, with several games running across the TVs, a mix of booths and high-tops, and the easy noise of a room where people settle in for a while. It bills itself as the Upstate's local kitchen and dive, and the crowd plays along: groups pull tables together, nobody is dressed up, and the beer is cold and priced the way a neighborhood bar's should be. The kitchen turns out Southern bar food with more care than the setting lets on. The 10-ounce burgers are the anchor, thick and cooked the way you ask for them, and the jumbo smoked chicken wings come in a long run of rubs and sauces, from Cajun dry rub to sweet-heat ranch. Around those sit fried platters, gourmet nachos, patty melts, and a weekday lunch deal that puts a burger, sandwich, or foot-long hot dog with a side on the table for ten dollars. A shareable worth knowing about is Maw-Maw's pimento cheese, served with garlic toast points and candied jalapeños. Portions here tend to run big, big enough that a single order of fries can stall out two people.

Sharky's Bagels is a bagel shop located in Gloucester Township. They offer breakfast restaurant, bakery, food store and restaurant services. Rated 4.4 stars from 962 Google reviews.

Convenience store offering house-brand milk, basic grocery items, snacks & tobacco, plus a deli.

Bagelicious is a bagel shop located in Westville. They offer bakery and food store services. Rated 4.5 stars from 120 Google reviews.

Village Bagels is a bagel shop located in Harrison Township. They offer breakfast restaurant, coffee shop, cafe and bakery services. Rated 4.1 stars from 206 Google reviews.

Long-running chain serving signature breakfast items & a variety of coffee drinks.

Convenience store chain known for sandwiches & coffee. Many offer fuel & are open 24/7.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is a bagel shop located in Glassboro. They offer breakfast restaurant, coffee shop, cafe and bakery services. Rated 3.6 stars from 34 Google reviews.

Eatery boasting an extensive menu of entrees & diner classics, plus a lounge with entertainment.

New Jersey–based counter-serve sandwich chain serving jumbo subs filled with cold cuts & toppings.

Endgrain Coffee Roasters is a coffee shop located in Pitman. They offer coffee roastery, cafe and food store services. Rated 4.8 stars from 378 Google reviews.

Long-running chain serving signature breakfast items & a variety of coffee drinks.

Welcoming coffeehouse with handcrafted coffee, espresso & tea, plus breakfast, lunch & pastries.