New homes, a new barbecue restaurant, new coffee shops and other new ventures point to a significant amount of activity in Newberry in the coming months.

Bailey Builders of Evans, Ga. purchased land on Smith Road and will start a new subdivision there in the fall. If you’re on Smith Road and on your left is Newberry Academy and Regency Woods, the next big field on your left will be the site.

While we were sorry to see the Flying Pie go, we’re very happy Steelhorse Smokehouse will open a barbecue restaurant at the same spot downtown in September. Long popular with its food truck at the VC Summer site and at Newberry festivals, Steelhorse will be a great addition to downtown. I had their ribs at the Taste of Newberry in May, and they were fantastic.

We’re glad to welcome new business Newberry Yoga, which will open Aug. 16 at 1121 Caldwell Street, just off Main Street. Owners Susan Dorton and Jane Wyatt will offer a wide range of classes and offer free classes in August.

Eddie Long will open Genesis coffee shop later this month at 1104 Main Street, just off the parking lot next to Steven W’s. Eddie and friends have done a wonderful job creating a neat décor and will offer coffee, groceries, and other items, all Fair Trade items with workers certified to be getting fair wages for their work.

Kimberley Lowrey will open 1912 Coffee Shop, which will be located at the left end of Oakland Mill, which was built in 1912. In addition to coffee and pastries, Kimberley will offer produce from local farms.

LoRex Drugs purchased the old South State Bank building and will move its drugstore there in the fall. Senator Ronnie and Linda Cromer say they need more space and are excited about the move.

Local entrepreneurs are springing forward with new ideas. Downtown, the Corner Scoop has added Italian ice and on Mondays, pizza. On Wilson Road, the Blazin Skillet has added a Snack Shack with burgers and other short order items.

Newberry College expects to have over 400 new students this semester, a great number for the college. Football players move in Monday with other students coming in over the next two weeks before classes start Aug. 21.

For the City Utility Department, the water line replacement work on Main Street/Hwy. 219 will finish this month. Once complete, the middle lane, where the gravel is currently, will be repaved. Sometime in the next year SCDOT will repave all lanes of that area. Near Willingham and Sons, the city will repave next week the spot where a water line recently broke.

The city police and fire departments will host the always-fun National Night Out at Mollohon Park Tuesday 6-8 p.m. The Newberry Opera House has released their new schedule, and it’s an exciting one. Tickets go on sale Aug. 15.

Finally, a small story from a meeting I attended in July of elected officials from the Upstate. Dr. Bobby McCormick, dean of Clemson University’s business school, discussed how higher education is changing because of technology. He said there is declining emphasis on traditional lectures and increasing emphasis on working in teams, digital learning, problem solving and resourcefulness. He was asked how parents can best prepare their children for this new environment.

He said, “I have one word for you: Reading.” He said for children, reading is as important as ever and once a child or youth is hooked on reading, they’ll continue reading and have a great foundation for their educational future.

I hope you have a nice rest of your summer.

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Foster Senn

Contributing Columnist

Foster Senn is the mayor of Newberry. His columns appear periodically in The Newberry Observer.