Mouths are already watering for these new eateries, setting their tables in Greenville in the next 12 months

As the food scene in Greenville continues to grow, restaurant-goers will have more and more options to choose from.

Here’s a look at some of the city’s most anticipated restaurants that will be opening soon.

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Caviar & Bananas

Laurens Street, ONE City Plaza

Expected opening: Spring 2016

Square footage: 4,700

Caviar & Bananas Gourmet Market & Cafe will open its first location outside the Charleston Market in Greenville this spring. Located next to the new Aloft Hotel at ONE City Plaza downtown, Caviar & Bananas will feature a wine bar, small plates menu and specialty grocery items.

The market and café will also have a full espresso and tea bar, fresh-baked pastries, prepared foods, made-to-order salads and sandwiches, cheese, charcuterie and a selection of boutique wine and craft beer.

caviarandbananas.com

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Brazwells Premium Pub

South Main Street

Expected opening: December 2015

A successful North Carolina restaurant management company, The Bottle Cap Group, is bringing three new restaurants to downtown Greenville. Brazwells should be the first to open, taking over the former Ford’s Oysters space on South Main Street. The space is getting a facelift but is keeping its outdoor patio. The sports bar will feature wings, appetizers, salads and a variety of sandwiches and entrees.

greenville.brazwellspub.com

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Butch’s Diner

Coffee Street

Expected opening: January 2016

Square footage: 3,500

Also from the Bottle Cap Group, Butch’s Diner will be located in the former Charlie’s Steakhouse space on Coffee Street. It will be Greenville’s first 24-hour diner. Décor will be ’50s-style diner with jukeboxes on the tables, sparkly booths and chrome everywhere, said a company spokesperson.

The two-story eatery will also feature a lunch counter and a tomato soup that’ll have people lining out the door, the spokesperson said.

thebottlecapgroup.com

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Ink n Ivy

Coffee Street

Expected opening: January 2016

Eclectic and edgy, Ink n Ivy, the third Bottle Cap Group restaurant, will be located in the former Corner Pocket space across from Butch’s Diner. The menu will be “classic American food but with an edgy twist and attention to detail and quality,” said a company spokesperson.

More than $3 million in renovations are going into the four-story restaurant. A full bar on the ground floor will open onto Brown Street and offer classic cocktails and extensive drink menu. Both the first and second floors will be restaurant space. On the third floor, an ultra-lounge will serve as a place to hang out and host special events. A 12,000-square-foot rooftop bar will offer patrons great views of the city.

thebottlecapgroup.com

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Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Embassy Suites, Riverplace

Expected opening: August 2016

Square footage: 7,000 with an additional 10,000 SF rooftop bar

Does downtown Greenville need another high-end steakhouse? Yes. Especially when it is a respected, award-winning national brand such as Ruth’s Chris. This will be Ruth’s Chris’ second location in Greenville (one restaurant is already on Congaree and Roper Mountain roads). Nancy Oswald, co-owner and franchisee for Ruth’s Chris, says that “ever-increasing guest demand and affinity for the Ruth’s Chris brand in Greenville have driven the decision for the additional location.”

A rooftop bar, yet to be named, atop the Riverplace Embassy Suites will be “an independent and unique entity,” but will be owned by Oswald’s company.

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W xyz at Aloft

Laurens Street, ONE City Plaza

Expected opening: Dec. 17, 2015

Square footage: 2,565

This is more bar than restaurant, but W xyz will serve food (think small plates, appetizers) and the location overlooking the newly redone pedestrian-only Laurens Street will be a great place for people-watching.

aloftgreenvilledowntown.com/greenville-bars

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The Cheesecake Factory

Haywood Mall

Expected opening: no official date, but expected in 2016

Square footage: 8,954

Rumors have run rampant for years about a Cheesecake Factory coming to Greenville, and now it’s finally true. Even though Cheesecake Factory still won’t officially confirm the announcement, city of Greenville officials confirmed that building permits were issued. Soon, Greenvillians will have the opportunity to dine on huge portions and more than 30 flavors of cheesecake.

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Roots Smokehouse

The Village of West Greenville

Expected opening: Jan. 5, 2016

This Village of West Greenville restaurant will be opening in Mac Arnold’s Plate Full of Blues.

Roots Smokehouse will be owned and operated by Travelers Rest native Ivan Mathena, and will specialize in authentic, smoked preparations of cured meats and vegetables.

“When patrons walk in, it will be a sensory experience. They will see a rustic hybrid of blues and BBQ, locally sourced meats and vegetables. Tunes from the legendary Mac Arnold, whose own musically inclined roots take him back to the inception of the blues movement in Greenville, will be resonating from every corner,” said Mathena. “With wood-fired smokers going nonstop, patrons get the full, authentic experience of a true cultural and eclectic vibe.”

Mathena said he chose The Village as the site of his new restaurant based on the area’s growth and off-the-beaten-path feeling.

Roots Smokehouse will have its grand opening celebration on New Year’s Eve, with proceeds benefitting Leap of Faith and supporting Lindsey Motley, a lifelong family friend and young mother who is battling colon cancer. Roots Smokehouse will continue its weekend of grand opening celebrations with a “Morning After Brunch” held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Sidewall Pizza Company

99 Cleveland St.

Expected opening: January 2016

Square footage: 1,800

Sidewall Pizza, a popular Travelers Rest eatery known for its eclectic pizzas, beer and wine selection and unique homemade ice cream flavor, will open its second location, taking over the former Savoury Corner location on Cleveland Street near downtown Greenville,

Owners Andy O’Mara and Loren Frant will be leasing the 1,800-square-foot space, which was a service station converted to a restaurant. It will have an open-air feeling with outdoor seating.

sidewallpizza.com/greenville

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Also on the menu

At least two downtown restaurants are planning expansions and major changes early next year, but are not quite ready to announce their plans.

Look for other new restaurants, including:

The 05 on Augusta Street, a taproom and wine bar with outdoor seating.

Haywood Grill on Woods Crossing Road – Augusta Grill’s second location, in the former Stax Grill space.

An expansion of the popular Bacon Bros. Public House on Pelham Road. The company is also franchising its concept.

Toss Pizza Pub and Biscuit Head, both at the new South Ridge mixed-use development at Church Street and University Ridge.

Tucanos Brazilian Grill, a churrasco-style eatery coming to Magnolia Park on Woodruff Road, is planning on an early February 2016 opening.

Greenville’s first green-certified restaurant, Kitchen Sync, located at 1609 Laurens Road, near South Pleasantburg Drive, will be a locally owned, full-service neighborhood grill and pizzeria specializing in local, sustainable farm-to-table fare.

A new restaurant is currently planned at Legacy Square in Verdae.

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Read more from this week’s cover package…

DOWNTOWN SPIRITS // For nearly 70 years and three generations, Bouharoun’s has poured its soul into the heart of Greenville >>

EVERYONE KNOWS TOMMY // Construction workers, businesspeople and presidents – they’ve all had a seat at Tommy’s Country Ham House over the last 30 years >>

WATCH THESE SPACES // Where will the next batch of hot new eateries crop up? >>

CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS // Local food culture brings out a continuous conversation between restaurants and farms >>

FOOD TRUCKS CONTINUE TO SEEK SPACE IN CITY >>

FOOD HALL TREND COMING TO THE UPSTATE // One step beyond the old mall food court, food halls are big business around the country >>

KITCHEN COMMUNES // A community of chefs finds a home in the Upstate’s prep kitchens >>