Spartanburg business roundup: New Heb'N Eats venture, Kobelco layoffs, Main Street closure - Spartanburg Herald Journal

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I've run into some trouble with this week's new business column...

I only have one new business to share! And while Herb'N Eats Chef P's new venture is certainly exciting, to make this column worthwhile for our loyal subscribers, I've included some other business news from around Spartanburg you might have missed over the past few weeks.

In the mean time, if you're opening a new business or know of one — please reach out to me at gcontino@gannett.com or on Twitter @GennaContino. 

April 5 business openings: J2 Health, Recovery Day, Biscuits, Bowls & Burgers, TechStyles

Find information on dessert startup PuddN', layoffs at a well-known manufacturer in Spartanburg County, a club closure and the latest on what's going on with Morgan Square.

PuddN'

• Spartanburg chef Sedrick “Chef P” Posey, formerly of Herb'N Eats has created a specialty dessert start-up, PuddN'.
• With his new venture, Posey offers an aesthetically-pleasing and thoughtful alternative to the typical grab-and-go dessert in a plastic or styrofoam cup.
• Posey is currently offering four varieties of his made-from-scratch banana pudding layered with delicately crumbled cookies or bright red berries in 16 oz. mason jars for $5-7 each. 
• Banana, cookie, strawberry walnut and mixed berry pound cake puddings with house-made pound cake from Mama Sue's Homemade Help will be available this spring. 
• Puddings will be sold online and available for pickup or delivery. An order form is available on the PuddN' Facebook page.
• Posey has been working at Mama Sue’s since his restaurant Herb'N Eats was forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. He says owner Sue Thomas was the first person he told about his new project.

Initial report: Herb'N Eats' Sedrick "Chef P" Posey is back with a sweet surprise for Spartanburg foodies

Kobelco layoffs

• Kobelco Construction Machinery of Moore plans to lay off 75 percent of its workforce on May 1 when the company suspends production of all seven of its hydraulic excavator models.
• The Japan-based company learned in January that its main engine supplier, Hino Motors, was unable to obtain EPA certifications for its new model-year engines, "with no clear outlook on future supply schedule." The engines are needed for the hydraulic excavators produced at the Moore facility.
• Plant manager Ralph Wabnitz on Monday said 99 of the plant's 131 employees will be laid off May 1. 
• "The plant will stay open until a decision about the future of this facility is made," Wabnitz said. "The suspension of production was not a local decision, rather a decision made by our headquarters in Japan."
• Kobelco Construction Machinery, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tokyo, opened the $41 million, 156,000-square-foot production facility at the Tyger River Industrial Park in Moore in March 2016. 
• As an economic enticement, the company received a $750,000 grant from the S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development, as well as tax breaks approved by Spartanburg County Council in 2015.
• During its first year, the plant produced 44 excavators. By March 2019, the number climbed beyond 1,000.
• Kobelco filed a WARN Act notice with the U.S. Department of Labor and S.C. Department of Employment Workforce. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires large companies to give employees two months' notice before a closing or major layoff.
• It is the second major layoff announced in Spartanburg County this year. In January, Chicago-based LSC Communications announced it would lay off 401 workers and close its east side Spartanburg plant Feb. 18 as the company moved work to other LSC locations.

99 layoffs: Japan-based Kobelco to lay off workers at its Moore SC excavator production plant

Main Street closure

• The Spartanburg City Council voted 4-3 April 12 to keep a section of W. Main Street through Morgan Square closed to cars through the summer.
• Councilwoman Meghan Smith, who made the motion, proposed that the city revisit the situation when school starts back in August.
• In making her motion, she noted that the pandemic is still here and the city still has a mask ordinance — which the council voted to extend another 30 days earlier in the meeting. 
• In making her motion, she noted that the pandemic is still here and the city still has a mask ordinance — which the council voted to extend another 30 days earlier in the meeting. 
• The vote followed a recommendation by City Manager Chris Story, who touted the importance of foot traffic in downtown. 
• Nearly 30, mostly retailers but a few restaurants, signed a petition requesting that the street be reopened. They say the closure of the city's main thoroughfare has driven away customers while giving certain restaurants on the Square an unfair advantage during the pandemic in the form of “free square footage” outside. 
• Several restaurants, including Delaney's Irish Pub, have been using a new campaign called "Reimagine Morgan Square" to encourage leaders to keep the current configuration intact. 
• Councilman Rob Rain proposed a hybrid model that would see the street closed on weekends but open to cars during the week. That didn't get support from the majority of the council. 

4-3 vote: Spartanburg City Council votes to keep West Main Street closed to vehicles through summer

Club Rehab closure

• Club Rehab, located at 93 Kensington Drive in Spartanburg, closed permanently after the Spartanburg City Council voted unanimously April 12 to revoke its business license. 
• There have been more than 220 police calls at the club since its opening under new ownership in May 2019, and has been fined twice by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division for not following two separate governor orders related to COVID-19, public records show. 
• There have been several shooting incidents at Club Rehab, including the most recent that occurred in a parking lot last October. 
• After that incident, City Attorney Bob Coler sent an email to club owner Billy Webber announcing that his business license would be revoked.
• Coler called the club a “public nuisance” that has “failed to provide sufficient security measures to protect people and property located on the premises and to protect people and property located in the immediate vicinity.”
• The owner disputes the city’s decision and unsuccessfully appealed the revocation in a Nov. 11 hearing at City Hall. In a Spartanburg Herald-Journal story published in February, Webber called the process “unfair” and touted the good his business has done for the community, including Bible studies on Sunday and free meals to children on Saturday.

• After losing the appeal at City Hall, Webber — under the representation of his attorney Scott Talley — asked the city council to determine the matter.

Initial report: After more than 200 police calls, Spartanburg City Council votes to close Club Rehab​​​​​​​

Know of a new business opening? Contact Genna at gcontino@gannett.com or on Twitter @GennaContino. 

The Link Lonk


April 19, 2021 at 05:30PM
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Spartanburg business roundup: New Heb'N Eats venture, Kobelco layoffs, Main Street closure - Spartanburg Herald Journal

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