The Spartanburg franchise of Growler Haus, the popular craft beer establishment located downtown, abruptly closed its doors on Feb. 14.
“Sadly, we regret to inform our Tribe that as of today our doors must permanently close. We wish we had one more day to say goodbye with a final pint,” read a post from the bar’s Instagram page. “There’s not much more to say except thanks for all the memories. We’ve loved every minute we got to spend slinging beers, sharing laughs, singing songs, and celebrating life with our community of beer nerds. We love you all and hope to see you around!”
Students and faculty remembered the establishment as a favorite spot to relax and enjoy quality beer.
“Almost every Wednesday, my friends and I would attend trivia night at Growler,” said Jack Johnson ‘22. “It became a part of our weekly routine.”
Phillip Stone ‘94, archivist for the College and adjunct professor of Government and International Affairs, said he enjoyed sampling the craft beers and seeing students at the pub, which sat nestled at 113 N. Church St. between Pokenori and Grouchos Deli.
“It was also really crummy the way it happened to the staff there…when apparently the owner had known for a while he was going to close, telling them on Valentines Day, ‘I’m closing, immediately,’” Stone said.
“Growler Haus was a great local spot for Wofford students, along with the people of Spartanburg to come together and share in some great drinks and fun times together,” said Will Cantrell ‘22, who competed with Johnson as part of their Growler trivia team for two years. “It was an underappreciated establishment and will surely be missed by the Spartanburg community and Wofford student population.”
Andrew Fischer, who hosted trivia every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and commonly known as “Fish,” recalled Growler Haus as a place with a friendly staff and an inviting, welcoming atmosphere.
“I started going there right around the time it first opened. My brother and I were playing music around town at the time, and after getting to know Roxy and the staff, she agreed to let us play there,” Fischer said.
In addition to hosting karaoke and Wednesday night trivia, Fischer came up with the idea for the popular annual Festivus party, along with Growler Haus manager Roxanne “Roxy” Doty. Playing music eventually segued into Fischer emceeing and becoming a Growler Haus staple.
“My wife and I loved going there on date night. My daughter was convinced from an early age that it was the greatest place on earth and loved playing games upstairs while looking over Morgan Square and eating boiled peanuts,” Fischer said.
Part of Growler Haus’ appeal was its unique status as a craft beer establishment in a town with limited options.
“Sometimes the bar was packed and sometimes there were only a few teams,” Johnson said. “Either way, we always had a great time in an environment unlike anywhere else in Spartanburg. We all love craft beer and it was always exciting seeing what selection they had that day. It was never the same twice.”
“There are, of course, other wonderful bars and restaurants in downtown Spartanburg, probably more than we should expect, being a small-ish southern city,” Fischer said. “But we lost something when GH was taken from us, and we are all a little worse off because of that.”
Ciclops Cyderi and Brewery hosted a “One Last Toast for Growler Haus” event the night of Feb. 26, which saw a strong turnout of former loyal patrons, including Stone, along with karaoke hosted by Fischer.
The Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported on Feb. 25 that Brian Greene and Kevin Moore, owners of Delaney’s Irish Pub, were leasing the old Growler Haus space under their new venture, Morgan Square Hospitality Group.
“I just hope it’s something similar,” Stone said. “I don’t really want it to be another coffee house…we’ve got three of those already, but we don’t really have a lot of craft beer bars. I mean, we’ve got (RJ) Rocker’s and Ciclops, but they’re more interested in selling their own stuff. They’re breweries instead of a craft beer place.”
Greene expressed a desire to add a hood system to create a fully-functioning kitchen, which Growler Haus lacked, but to keep the familiar craft beers and add “high-end cocktails, some shareable appetizers and we may possibly have the bar upstairs be an oyster bar.”
Greene did add the caveat that these plans are tentative, depending on what the final kitchen design looks like. Additionally, Greene said yet unnamed franchises beyond the former Growler Haus would come to fruition under their new venture in the future.
Author’s note: Special thanks to Samatha Swann of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal for her work and updates on the future of the former Growler Haus location, which were used in this article.
