Two new restaurants are coming to Fort Mill. One’s familiar and one’s a mystery
The Baxter area of Fort Mill has two new restaurants on the way. One is an eatery many may already know.
Mac’s Speed Shop will open a new restaurant off S.C. 160 by mid-2022. The same ownership group will open a second restaurant there on that same schedule, but details aren’t set on its concept.
“I think the community is really going to love what we do,” said Shang Skipper, president of Mac’s Hospitality Group.
Mac’s has eight locations. The first opened in the South End area of Charlotte in 2005. The barbecue, beer and bikes concept filled in a former motor shop. In 2009 Mac’s opened its third barbecue restaurant, on Sandy Porter Road in Steele Creek.
Steele Creek is just across the North Carolina line. By highway travel, it’s between Tega Cay and Lake Wylie despite both those areas being in South Carolina.
“Steele Creek is part of what made us look into Fort Mill,” Skipper said. “We’ve seen a lot of guests coming across the South Carolina-North Carolina border to have lunch and dinner.”
The new restaurant will serve Fort Mill and grow the restaurant in South Carolina, where its only current site is in Greenville. The location near Baxter is no accident. Rapid population growth in Fort Mill and in Baxter in particular make it a fit.
“Baxter is its own micro-economic climate, if you will,” Skipper said.
The two new restaurants will share parking on a three-acre site. They will be about 4,000 to 5,000 square feet between them, Skipper said. The restaurants will employ up to 200 people.
Skipper said growth comes as the existing eight sites have done well, even despite the COVID-19 pandemic that pinched operations at many restaurants.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Skipper said. “We’ve seen a trend that tells us that our guests like what we’re doing. We continue to evolve every day.”
The barbecue heavy menu will be similar in Fort Mill to existing restaurants. Menus swap out some items quarterly. The vibe at Mac’s can change too, Skipper said. What started as a big motorcycle crowd has grown at the existing locations to include many family diners. Something Skipper believes will serve the Fort Mill site well.
“We believe in our product,” Skipper said. “We smoke our barbecue in house. Everything we do is authentic and original.”
Mac’s sites are known for the food and drink, along with music, events, dog-friendly patio seating and scratch-made items like sauces and dressings. There are daily drink specials and a long line of draft or bottle beverages. Mac’s has a history of competition barbecue too, with several awards on its resume.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 11:24 AM.
