City leaders recently joined the owners of City Tavern for a grand re-opening celebration.
The bar and restaurant located at 128 N. Main Street underwent a facade improvement and interior upgrades to its first floor and kitchen.
The tavern closed for construction in March. It’s teal-colored exterior was replaced by a modern, glass façade with eye-catching signage and a new entryway.
Scott Woods, who owns the building at corner of Main and East North streets, and his business partners, Jeremy Krauze and Chris Rosensteel of Society Sandwich Bar and Social Club, utilized the City’s Façade Improvement Program for a return of $250,000 of construction expenses.
Krauze and Rosensteel bring their culinary experience to City Tavern. Woods, who has operated the business for two decades, is most excited about the expansion to a full kitchen and an elevated menu.
During the three-month closure Woods was able to keep long-term employees on the payroll. Two of his employees have worked for him for more than 20 years each, he said. “That original staff stayed on and did a lot of interior work with building out and installing different things: building chairs, hanging pictures, cleaning, doing the demo,” Krauze added.
Woods wants City Tavern to remain familiar and comfortable for regular patrons. Phase one of the renovations include a new bar area, a raised ceiling and new flooring. Krauze and Rosensteel will continue their investment during phase two, which will activate the second and third floors. Both floors are vacant. They have not yet released renderings or a formal concept for the space.
“We have done Society for four years,” Krauze said. “We’ve got some legs under it. We’ve thought about expanding to different cities, but we really love Greenville and what the community has to offer. So, we’re like, let’s dig deeper here.”
“We’re incredibly proud of everything that was that was done,” Woods added. “What we were doing might not have made it another 20 years, but what we have done will clearly be here, for far longer than that.”
Written by the City of Greenville.