Travelers Rest keeps on growing

By Cindy Landrum  

AUGUST 18, 2011 11:03 a.m. (1)

When the economy tanked in 2008, Kem Theisen decided to close her multi-merchant mall in Travelers Rest because it was costing her money to keep the doors open.

The building sat empty for a year as she tried to sell it.

Then work began to convert an old railroad bed than ran behind the Shops at 27 Main into a walking and biking trail and a downtown revitalization project that reduced the four-lane Highway 276 that serves as the town’s Main Street to three lanes and created a mini-park got underway.

She decided to renovate the building and reopen. She bought Leopard Forest Coffee Shop, renamed it and relocated it to anchor the 13,000-square foot building. Eight other businesses – from a real estate agency and a lawyer to a jewelry store to a vitamin and nutritional supplement store – are located in the rest of the space.

“I was a big skeptic at first, especially about the trail,” Theisen said. “But there’s a new energy and a lot of activity now in Travelers Rest. And I don’t think it would have happened without both the trail and the revitalization project.”

City officials agree.

The trail, which Theisen said opened “a whole new road to Travelers Rest,” has brought people – and new businesses -- into town.

The downtown revitalization project has given Travelers Rest an identity and character people who used to just drive right by didn’t know about, Travelers Rest City Administrator Dianna Turner said.

Since the trail and downtown renovation was completed in December 2009, about 20 new businesses have located on or near Main Street, Turner said.

The Trailside Creamery, an ice cream shop, has opened next to the Café at Williams Hardware, a restaurant and gift shop opened by sisters Nancy and Joyce McCarrell two and a half years ago.

“The McCarrells were really the first to take a leap of faith,” Turner said.

Joyce McCarrell said the resurgence has exceeded the sisters’ expectations, especially with the economy. While many businesses have opened, she said there is still plenty of space for more.

“There’s still a lot of potential up here,” she said.

The Flop Shop, a boutique, located in a building that once was the home of an office machine business that had been vacant for years.

A strip mall at the corner of Roe Road and Main is filled.

Two restaurants will soon open on Main Street – Chef Giovanni’s and Duke’s Dogs.

Tractor Supply is opening soon and is accessible from Highway 276.

There are plans for a music venue and there’s talk of some vacant property at the corner of Main and Roe Road being turned into a mixed-use development with residential above retail stores.

“There’s a lot of chatter, a lot of interest,” Theisen said. “People are exploring the possibility of running a business in Travelers Rest. That, five years ago, was unheard of.”

The flurry of business interest has led some owners of some of the old buildings on Main Street to start fixing them up after putting no money into them for years, Turner said. Some buildings still need attention, she said.

While about 20 new businesses have located in town recently, Turner said over the next five years there could easily be 20 more.

“There’s still plenty of space available,” she said.

Theisen said it’s good the town is trying to make Travelers Rest a destination. “I think it’s getting to that point,” she said.

Turner called the Swamp Rabbit Trail Travelers Rest’s version of Greenville’s Falls Park. “We have embraced the trail the way Greenville has embraced Falls Park,” Turner said.

And while Turner does not want to compare Travelers Rest to Greenville, where Falls Park and the Liberty Bridge have kick-started development on South Main Street and the West End, she does say the town will copy the much bigger city in one way.

“The only parallel between us is that Greenville is constantly evolving and improving,” she said. “In Travelers Rest, we’re never going to be finished with our downtown revitalization. There will always be something else to do.”

The next phase is likely two to three years away, she said.

The town still has plans to convert the old Travelers Rest High property into a municipal and recreation complex.

The complex will include new city offices, a fire station and an amphitheater as well as sports fields. The Greenville County Recreation District has purchased other parcels near the old school site and is expected to build additional recreational facilities at the complex as well.

“I think Main Street can reasonably extend to the former school site,” Turner said.

Eventually, the city wants to extend the revitalization project to Poinsett Highway, Center Street, State Park Road and the non-trail side of Main Street, Turner said.

“It will depend on how much money is available and which areas are most ready,” she said. “We’re not going to stop now.”