Your (social) table is ready: It’s opening day for new downtown Fort Mill restaurant
Downtown Fort Mill has a new restaurant.
Tuesday was opening day for Emmet’s Social Table. The 100 Main St. restaurant is the second Emmet’s location. The other is in Waxhaw, N.C.
”The menu is the same,” said Megan Giroux, partner with Emmet’s alongside husband Dan. “The drinks are pretty much the same. The facility, it’s different but we brought back a lot of history of the old theater. It’s similar to what we did in Waxhaw with the old mill.”
Emmet’s comes to the Old Center Theatre site at the bottom of Main, just above the railroad tracks. It’s the former Southern Sugar location. The site has been upgraded for Emmet’s including a new covered area overlooking the train tracks.
Emmet’s aims to bring something that’s been in short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the “social” in its name suggests. Food is meant to be enjoyed through sharing and sampling with others in the party, Giroux said.
“We’re an American-style small plate concept,” she said. “You’re not just coming in to pick out one meal.”
The restaurant has a wide range of menu items. Appetizers and smaller dishes include fried green tomatoes, Korean glazed wings, smoked pork nachos, deviled eggs and a meat and cheese board. A range of salads and flatbreads joins more than a half dozen slider and taco options on the menu. Larger plates include Cajun shrimp and grits, glazed salmon, chicken and waffles, ribs, crab cakes and short ribs.
Many of the same items are found on the gluten free menu. There’s also a kids menu with items from chicken tenders and sliders to filet, all homemade in-house. Emmet’s also has a lengthy beer, wine and cocktail menu. Happy hour and daily drink special menus are being developed.
Emmet’s had a friends and family event this past weekend. The new restaurant raised $6,000 for area charities. The public opening follows on Tuesday.
“It was awesome,” Giroux said. “The support of the friends and family was amazing.”
Emmet’s opens at 11:30 a.m. daily. The restaurant serves until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The new restaurant hopes to capitalize on an excitement for eating out again after a year when many people didn’t or couldn’t, due to COVID-19. Giroux said business has picked back up at the Waxhaw eatery, a good sign for the new Fort Mill venture.
“The pandemic definitely put a pause on the parties and the things we’re used to doing,” she said.
For many restaurants now, staffing remains an issue. Emmet’s offered a sign-on bonus for some employees and filled out a staff that will be close to 50 employees moving forward. Staffing shouldn’t be an issue with Emmet’s as the restaurant gains traction in Fort Mill.
“It definitely was a challenge,” Giroux said. “But we got a few great staff members and they brought some more great staff members.”
