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MEDIA. GABBY? GABRIELLE: NIGEL, THANK YOU. SOME NEW CHANGES ARE COMING TO THE RESTAURANT SCENE IN DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE. TABLE 301 IS SELLING TWO OF ITS 10 RESTAURANTS TO INDEPENDENT MANAGEMENT. THE RESTAURANT GROUP CURRENTLY OWNS DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE STAPLES INCLUDING SOBY’S JIANNA, THE LAZY GOAT AND MORE. OUR MADELEINE HACKETT HAS THE STORY FROM DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE. >> TWO RESTAURANTS FORMERLY OWNED BY TABLE 301 TAKING ON NEW OWNERSHIP THIS YEAR. ONE OF THEM, PAPIS TACOS, RIGHT HERE ALONG THE REEDY RIVER. >> WHEN THE TIMINGS RIGHT AND EVERYTHING LINES UP THEN DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A SEAT AT THAT TABLE. JORGE BARRALES, ALSO KNOWN AS OSTRICH’SJORGE BARRALES, ALSO KNOWN AS PAPI, HAS WORKED FOR THAT SEAT. AN IMMIGRANT FROM MEXICO HE’S ONE OF THE REMAINING ORIGINA TABLE 301 EMPLOYEES. WORKING HIS WAY UP FROM DISHWASHER AT SOBY’S TO NOW OWNER OF PAPI’S TACOS. >> I SAY TO CARL THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> IT’S NOT JUST THE MEXICAN FARE RESTAURANT THAT’S CHANGING OWNERSHIP. THE FRENCH BISTRO PASSERRELLE WILL SOON BE IN THE HANDS OF A LONGTIME EMPLOYEE. >> THERE’S ONLY SO MUCH I CAN DO , THAT I NEED, AND I REALLY WANT PART OF THE LEGACY DOWN THE ROAD IS THAT WE STARTED ALL THESE RESTAURANTS AND THEY DIDN’T WORK OUT BUT WE HELPED CREATE THE NEXT WAVE OF ENTREPRENEURS. >> A MODEL AND A VISION TO CONTINUE EXPANDING UPON GREENVILLE’S GROWING RESTAURA

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Two of Table 301 Restaurant Groups' 10 restaurants in downtown Greenville are changing ownership. On March 1, Carl Sobocinski , owner of Table 301, signed over Papi’s Tacos, the small taqueria along the Reedy River, to Jorge Barrales, also known as "Papi." Passerelle Bistro, down the steps from Main Street to Falls Park, will also soon be under new ownership. Barrales started as a dishwasher at Soby’s, Table 301’s flagship restaurant, more than 20 years ago. Barrales says it took him a year to even realize that Sobocinski was the owner. “I'd see (Carl) clean the tables... pour water for the customer,” Barrales said. "I thought he was an employee. Sometimes when (Soby’s) was really busy he’d be putting dishes into the machine and everything."An immigrant from Mexico, Barralles came to California in the 1990s before moving to Greenville, South Carolina three years later. One of the few remaining original employees of Table 301, he worked his way up and opened Papi’s Tacos under the restaurant group’s umbrella with the plan to ultimately acquire the restaurant. “When the timing’s right and everything lines up, then different individuals will have an opportunity to have a seat at that table,” Sobocinski said. A five-minute walk down the Reedy River brings restaurant-goers to a different cuisine but similar story for French restaurant Passerelle Bistro. Longtime employee and current general manager Michael Minelli recently purchased 10 percent of the business. According to Sobocinsky, Minelli will continue to earn equity shares, with a final buyout planned within the next 2-5 years. “There’s only so much I can do that I need, and I really want part of the legacy down the road is that we started all these restaurants and they didn’t just fizzle out, but we helped create the next wave of entrepreneurs,” Sobocinksi said. “People that worked really hard at some of them have opportunities to buy in or have some sweat equity and continue to earn more and more.”