There’s much activity and fun around Newberry as summer begins.

Many Moons Artistry will hold its grand opening Friday night at 1320 Lindsay Street. Formerly Blue Moon, new owner Kris Caldwell and staff are offering tasty pizza on the first floor, pool tables on the second floor and a great view of Newberry and a life-sized chess set on the third floor. Many Moons will also feature music.

That building is one the oldest in Newberry, possibly dating to the 1840s, says local historian Ernie Shealy. Among its uses were a mule stable, when mules were still a thing, and later a shirt factory, which closed in the early 1970s.

Mi Casa Grande restaurant is now open where San Jose previously was — and for old timers: Quincy’s. Owner Catarino Lozano has been in the restaurant business 35 years, including in Newberry, as he and his brother opened in 1994 a Mexican restaurant where El Poblano is now. Monday night I ordered my usual at Mexican restaurants, the #11 combination (burrito, enchilada, taco), and found it to be delicious.

I asked “Cat” why most Mexican restaurant menus have the same combo numbers. He said the first entrepreneur that opened many Mexican restaurants created that number system, and subsequent restaurants followed that system.

In front of Tractor Supply, land preparation is underway for Cook Out. They’re popular and expanding and known for their burgers, combos and shakes. Plus, I find their barbecue sandwiches with North Carolina barbecue and slaw to be almost as good as mustard-based barbecue.

Home 2 Suites will be complete and open this summer. With that opening, I recently sent a letter via Twitter to Cracker Barrel, which still owns land between the hotel and 7-Eleven. “Dear @crackerbarrel. Remember when you bought the land in Newberry in the 2000’s and said you would be back later to build? I want to give you an update. The second hotel beside your property is about to open. 43,000 vehicles per day are on I-26. 2,000 people work within a 1/3 of a mile of your land. Business is booming at exit 76, and new stoplights were added. You would be embraced in Newberry. In fact we’re pretty sure our ancestors helped invent country cooking. @crackerbarrel, it’s time to come home to Newberry.” Our retail recruiter, Retail Strategies, will continue to keep Cracker Barrel informed about the good things happening here.

Newberry College is bustling with new projects. The new Darby Nursing and Health Science Center on College Street and Founders Fieldhouse at Setzler Field will be ready for the fall semester and are impressive. Renovations have begun at MacLean Gym for future athletic department use. The wrestling team is moving its facility from downtown to college property diagonally across from Setzler Field. And at Kaufman Hall, Founders Federal Credit Union has opened a branch, which is open to the public.

In city government news, Ed Driggers will be the city’s interim city manager, starting July 1 and going through the fall and into winter. Ed was Greer’s city administrator for 20 years and was recognized as one of the best municipal leaders in the state. He now serves as an interim local government leader and consultant. With his experience, we’re confident Ed will have some new ideas for Newberry.

The city PRT department has many activities for youth this summer, including the always popular Gully Washer Splash Park. New offerings at Gully Washer include expanded hours for toddlers, additional hours in the evenings for season pass holders, and the park is now available for birthday party rentals. The splash park schedule is available online, and daily admission is $3 per person.

The Newberry Arts Center is offering a broad range of summer classes for kids and teens, including painting, mixed media, pottery and storytelling. Its schedule is available online. And PRT will offer its Summer Mobile Recreation program with daily activities at city parks.

The city’s utility department recently received national recognition for exceptional electric reliability in 2022. The city’s average electric service availability index was 99.9946%, which means city customers were very rarely without power in 2022.

Upcoming events in downtown Newberry include Shop and Dine this Friday evening and the annual Juneteenth celebration on June 17 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. And the Farmers Market, sponsored by the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce, on Saturday mornings is always a fun place to be.

I hope you have a very nice start to your summer.

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