NEWBERRY, S.C. — According to 2022 U.S. Census numbers, the City of Newberry has a population of nearly 10,500 people. Local leaders are expecting more people with some new businesses, including a hotel and several restaurants.
Residents can expect to see a new hotel, Home2 Suites, and a Cookout restaurant, according to Mayor Foster Senn’s Twitter.
Wayne Redfern, Newberry’s director of planning and development said there’s much more in the works.
“A local restaurant, Many Moons, their specialty is pizza, salad charcuterie boards, opened, it’s been a big hit so far," Redfern said. "Two other small restaurants are under construction right now. One should finish in August and the other in the fall. We have two others that are actually in design to start later in the year."
Aside from restaurants, Redfern said there are some community developments on the way, like athletic and nursing facilities for Newberry College and a new amphitheater that was funded by the penny sales tax.
“The more the college grows, the more the population grows with it," Redfern said. "They hit their all time high last year and we expect a high this year.”
Redfern said he also expects the new businesses to attract more people to Newberry.
“We’re looking at what we hope will be a 5, maybe 10 percent population growth that tends to lag a little bit," Redfern said. "We have one developer that hopes to start sometime late summer, early fall with about 95 homes and another developer with about 200 homes that’ll start a little bit later. That would add about 300 to the population, which is just over 10."
Brandon Robertson is one of Newberry's 10,000 residents. He said he expects good things to come with the new projects.
“I’m liking all the new developments and everything," Robertson said. "We have a Cookout coming. The Cookout may not be located in the area for a drive-through, however, it’s gonna attract a lot of business. Cookout is a good restaurant," Robertson said.
With growth comes some growing pains. Faye Morris also lives in Newberry and she's looking for a different type of business to come to Newberry.
“There’s plenty of new developments but it pretty much seems to be all restaurants, fast foods and we need another grocery store in here," Morris said. "The only ones we’ve got are Food Lion and Walmart, just not enough competition."
Redfern said the new hotel is expected to open on July 1st, the Cookout in September, and the new amphitheater will start the design process later this year.