When a city grows as fast as Greer — up 7.3% in a single year, now past 50,000 residents — the business scene has to keep pace. The past 18 months have brought a wave of new openings, from local originals finding their footing to national brands deciding Greer is finally worth a location. Here's what's new.
The locals worth knowing
Greer Diner
The former Cannon's Drive In on Trade Street — a Greer institution — was taken over and reopened as Greer Diner, with a grand opening on December 19, 2025. Inheriting a beloved location comes with both an advantage and a pressure: regular customers will show up, but they'll have opinions. Early signs suggest it's earning them.
The Slice 3.0
New York-style pizza, pasta, and wings came to downtown Greer on May 28, 2026. The Slice is an Upstate-owned operation — this is its third iteration, hence the name — and its arrival in downtown fills a real gap. Greer Station has solid fine dining and bar food; it was missing a proper casual pizza spot. The Slice at 215 Trade St addresses that directly.
Hendrix Chicken — Cartwright Food Hall
Chicken tenders, collards, and mac and cheese at 215 Trade St inside Cartwright Food Hall. It's the kind of Southern comfort food concept that fits the food hall model well — a lower-risk entry point for a new operator, and a good addition to Cartwright's rotating roster.
Reputation Collective
A beauty salon and spa opened by sisters Erin Desoto and Kelly Warde alongside their mother Doreen Warde. Three generations, one business — it's the kind of story that tends to build a loyal client base quickly. They celebrated their ribbon-cutting earlier this year and have been open since.
Capri's Italian Restaurant
The former Tipsy Taco space on Wade Hampton Boulevard has been retrofitted and reopened as Capri's Italian Restaurant. Italian concepts have done well in Greer — L'Incanto on Trade Street has built a strong following — and Capri's adds another option for a cuisine the market clearly has appetite for.
The chains that confirm Greer is on the map
Chain openings aren't usually the most interesting business news, but they're a useful signal. Brands don't open locations in markets that aren't growing. Greer has attracted two notable arrivals on Wade Hampton Boulevard.
7 Brew opened at 1409 Wade Hampton Blvd, replacing the old Long John Silver's and bringing 50 jobs with it. The drive-through coffee format is built for the commuter corridor, and they donated $1,000 to United Way at their grand opening. Whataburger — a Texas institution with a devoted following — has planted a flag at 1386 Wade Hampton Blvd, its first push into South Carolina. If you know what Whataburger means to people from Texas, you understand the significance.
ACE Hardware is taking over the former Rite Aid space at 1100 W. Wade Hampton — a practical addition for a city with a lot of new homeowners.
The bigger picture
Greer's gross retail sales topped $2 billion for the first time in FY 2025. That number tells the story more clearly than any list of individual openings: this is a city with real consumer spending power, and businesses — local and national — are noticing.
The pattern emerging is two-track. Wade Hampton Boulevard is becoming the commercial corridor, attracting chain concepts that need drive-through traffic and visibility. Downtown Greer Station is developing its own identity: independent, food-focused, with a stronger sense of place. Both tracks are healthy. They serve different needs and don't compete with each other.
The third track — the Greer Farmers Market, where several of the next wave of Greer businesses are incubating — we're watching closely. The vendors who build loyal Sunday followings are often the ones who open brick-and-mortar locations 18 months later.
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