ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The City of Orangeburg has a new business luring residents to downtown with the smell of pizza.
"The first week like crazy, it was nothing like we expected," said Laura Castillo, Tuilo's Pizzeria's co-owner. "Especially, the first day."
Tulio's Pizzeria opened its doors on October 8th, but the city officially welcomed the business Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting. The town's mayor, Michael C. Butler, says Orangeburg is trying to aggressively recruit new businesses to the area to revive some of the dead spots.
"When we get results from town hall meetings and meeting with various people, we try our best to recruit them down here," Mayor Butler said.
Laura Castillo and her father, Marco, are the co-owners of Tulio's Pizzeria. They say they choose to relocate their original location from Summerville to Orangeburg because of the potential growth of the town.
"Coming from New York, we have an avenue called Mamaroneck Avenue, and it looks just like this," Castillo said. "We reminisce about the times we used to walk that avenue, and we say all the time that Russell Street could be the King Street Orangeburg."
Tulio's is open on Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce President James McQuilla said new businesses like Tulio's could help with the town's vision of reviving Russell Street.
"You may need something but not want that," said McQuilla. "We want new businesses. We're not just saying we are excited, but we are very excited to get new businesses to come to Orangeburg."
"Since then, we realized that we are just as important as these businesses are to us in helping each other grow clientele and Russell Street," expressed Castillo.
