Downtown Shop Owners See Woodruff Building Its Future

The Post and Courier's Spartanburg reporter Chris Lavender looked at how Woodruff's growth is reaching its historic Main Street in a July 2025 story.

Brandy Laney opened Humble Grounds coffee shop on Main Street in December 2016, when it was one of only a few businesses downtown. She briefly closed it and reopened in May 2023, and told the paper she was already seeing new faces in town and hoped more businesses would fill the empty buildings that remain.

Ben Harrison, a Woodruff native who owns 10 commercial properties in the historic district, opened Tap Three at 152 S. Main St. in June 2020. According to the paper, he planned to expand the pub into neighboring space, more than doubling its size, and hoped to make it a music venue that draws artists from across the state. He said downtown had long been "a tough sell" but that business was picking up.

The story tied the optimism to jobs and housing: AIRSYS Cooling Technologies' announced $40 million plant on SC-101 (215 jobs), BMW's battery assembly plant, and more than 6,000 new homes scheduled over five years, including the Cavins Farm subdivision on Eden Hall Road. Mayor Kenneth Gist said he expected the same level of growth for several years.

The paper also toured the new $100 million Woodruff High School at 1510 Cross Anchor Road with District 4 Director of Facilities Clark Simpkins, a 1978 WHS graduate. He said the building would be finished by November 2025 and open to students for the 2026-27 school year, with initial capacity for 1,500 students (expandable to 2,000), an auxiliary gym and a 600-seat theater. Football would stay at the existing stadium on Cross Anchor Road for now.

GoWoodruff note (Oct 2026): Humble Grounds' former storefront at 132 S. Main St. has since been leased to Flying Fox Coffee, as later reported. Check before you visit.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier.