Jim Fair
Still Water Grill and Catering is coming to the 300 block of Trade Street.
Jim Fair
Connie and Susie Bakeman, sisters-in-law, are constructing their first restaurant.
Jim Fair
Music and dancing will also be part of the restaurant's personality.
Jim Fair
The 300 block of Trade Street will feature three restaurants with Still Water in the center and flanked by Blue Ridge Brewing Company and Pour Sports Pub.
Still Water Grill and Catering, owned by sisters-in-law Connie and Susie Bakeman, will occupy 304 Trade Street. The building, owned by George Mastorakis, owner of Pete’s in Greer, has been unoccupied since 2007.
Blue Ridge Brewing Company will open next door at 308 Trade and Pour Sports Pub has been the only food establishment on the block at 302 Trade. There is ample public parking.
The Bakemans own Exceptional Catering at McAlister Square/Greenville Technical College at 225 S. Pleasantburg Drive and serve students and faculty at the boutique café while preparing their catering menu.
“We took shag lessons at The Davenport and we stopped at Wild Ace one night and began talking about owning our own restaurant,” Connie said. “I told Susie and she said ‘let’s do it.’”
The Bakemans scouted out places to locate in different cities but it seemed Greer was the main attraction. “We wanted to be in Greer because it is so quaint. We looked at several buildings but decided to come to this one,” Connie said.
“We’ve already got one of the best patios in town for outside dining,” Susie said. The former entrance was cordoned off from the public with a broken and unsafe concrete sidewalk. That has been repaired with a mosaic of bricks and three ceiling fans.
Still Water is tentatively scheduled to open in August. It will serve beer and wine until the restaurant obtains an alcohol beverage license.
The menu will feature gourmet sandwiches, homemade soup and desserts for lunch. “Dinner is a secret but we will have our chicken pot pie, which is to die for,” Connie said. “It isn’t premade, it will take about 25 minutes to bake. We don’t want to mass produce food and stay away from bar food.”
The restaurant will be open Tuesday and Wednesday for lunch (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) and Thursday through Saturday (11 a.m. – 11 p.m.).
Connie said Sweet Water will also feature a place for patrons to enjoy music and shag dance. “We want to be able to pull back the tables and give our guests a place to relax, have some fun and dance. We took shag lessons once a month here but didn’t have anywhere to practice. We think it will be fun.”