The articles below can be accessed by clicking the attached PDF files at the end of this page.

Attachments:

Survey Results	[ ]	196 Kb
Survey Press Release / Results	[ ]	1048 Kb

If you know of ANYONE in need of employment, within an approximate 5 mile radius of Fountain Inn, there are at least 96 job(s), representing at least 104 position(s).  These numbers change daily as positions are filled and new ones are added.  Please follow this link to the home page: https://jobs.scworks.org/

 https://jobs.scworks.org/   

Once you are on the Home page, Scroll down and look on the right side. There you will see where to input the zip code and mileage range Ex: Zip code....29644, then...5 mile radius

 You will then see all the jobs available.

Remember, these jobs change as positions are filled and new jobs are added everyday, so check back OFTEN.

The home-page of the Fountain Inn Chamber of Commerce's website has a "tab" labeled EMPLOYMENT.  Many times during the week, new job opportunities are posted here.  These positions may range from the local area to other counties in our state. 

Follow this link to see current opportunities:  http://fountaininnchamber.org/web/employment

If you know anyone who is in need of employment, please have them check our website at least twice a week.  Together we can ALL help try and put America Back to Work!

South of Fountain Inn’s downtown core, a new steak and seafood eatery just opened closer to the city’s manufacturing base of companies that surround the red-sided restaurant and bar on North Old Laurens Road.

 Though not in the heart of the city, Sammy and B.J. Abercrombie, owners of the Railhouse Restaurant, have bet on generating enough business from workers at industrial sites and the ZF Group plant in Gray Court to make their latest venture a success.

 It is a bet the city’s economic development director, Van Broad, backs while holding out hope that the success of a higher-end restaurant will lead to more retail and restaurant developments in town.

 “The Railhouse is a great addition to town; it is a little bit outside the downtown area,” Broad said. “We’ll continue to recruit restaurants to the downtown area and will continue to bring nighttime activities to the downtown area.”

 The Railhouse Restaurant is one of two new restaurants and two new specialty retail shops to open in Fountain Inn this month. El Jalisco Mexican Restaurant opened on Weston Street in a spruced-up and freshly painted building that most recently housed the Blue Moon Diner.

 On Main Street, a used bookstore called Bookquest and an expanded new shop called Paisley’s Salon and Gift Boutique have opened, bringing to Main Street two more specialty retail shops.

 More could be on the way, even as the city finishes a streetscape project on nearby Depot Street and makes plans to revamp Main Street into a two-lane walkable downtown center.

 Broad said the city is talking with three potential restaurants and has hosted a number of Greenville-based restaurant owners to show them what the city has to offer.

 The city’s tourism and activities push has brought life to the city in the evenings with summer outdoor concerts, city-run festivals and a consistent lineup of shows, concerts and performances at the Fountain Inn Center for Performing and Visual Arts.

 “We’ve done so much programming that has brought people back to downtown,” Broad said. “All of the events that we’re doing has been done with a purpose, to show people that if we can bring people downtown and show businesses that we can attract people downtown, it will help us recruit businesses.”

More announcements may come soon on Main Street and the State 418 corridor, Broad said. The two new restaurants offer cuisine that Fountain Inn residents couldn’t get in town previously, he said. And both are open for dinner, which hasn’t been the case with Fountain Inn businesses in the past, he said.

 The Abercrombies purchased the former Linda’s Homestead bar in 2010. It took months to add a rock fireplace, move the bar to one corner of the large open rectangular room, remake the kitchen, renovate restrooms and replace booths, tables and lighting.

 In that time the Abercrombies developed a menu filled with fresh seafood, steaks, sandwiches and salads.

 “Fountain Inn does not have anything like this in town,” Abercrombie said.

 B.J. Abercrombie said Fountain Inn residents asked them to open a restaurant like the Railhouse ever since they sold their last restaurant and campground on Lake Greenwood called Twin Rivers Landing and Restaurant.

 Bordered on two sides by railroad tracks, the restaurant took its theme from the city’s railroad ties. Black and white photos of train engines, boxcars and depot stations decorate the wood-planked walls while railroad signs hang on the wall of a covered porch.

 The restaurant offers a full bar that they hope will attract the post-shift crowd, but she said they’d stress the restaurant over the bar space with its own chef and made-to-order meals for lunch and dinner.

 Railhouse Restaurant is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Mon.-Thurs. and 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri-Sat.

 El Jalisco Mexican Restaurant is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Mon.-Sat. and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.

With today's economy being what it is, many, many people have lost their jobs and have been out work for weeks, months, possibly years.  The Fountain Inn Chamber of Commerce wants to do our part in trying to help get America Back to Work.  On our website is a Tab labeled EMPLOYMENT.  There you will find more information on available jobs and how to apply for them.  Just recently, within a five (5) mile radius of 29644, there were over 67 jobs available.  If you know of anyone out of work, please pass this information to them.  By working together, we can help others find work.  Thank you.

School district to purchase land for new high school

Board approves $2.1 million to buy 61 acres in Fountain Inn

By Nathaniel Cary • Staff Writer • Published: June 29. 2011 5:07PM

The board voted to buy 61 acres on Quillen Avenue as the future site of the district’s first newly created high school since Riverside High School opened in 1973.

Fountain Inn came into focus for the new school as residents and businesses continued to locate in the Golden Strip and threatened to overcrowd Hillcrest, Mauldin and Woodmont high schools that share a slice of the student population in the southern half of Greenville County.

The school is scheduled to open by 2017 and tentatively has been named New South County High School. The district included plans for a new school in its 2010 long range plan.

City and community leaders from both Fountain Inn and Simpsonville threw support behind the effort to bring a high school to Fountain Inn.

John Hastings, president and CEO of the Fountain Inn Chamber of Commerce, told the school board there is great potential for manufacturing jobs to bring thousands of new workers to Fountain Inn soon. He pointed to ZF Group already hiring workers to start at its new transmissions plant near Fountain Inn and said suppliers and other industries would likely locate nearby in existing buildings and available property.

“With each one of those jobs comes families, schoolchildren, going into our school system,” Hastings said. “So the growth ... would no doubt have a huge impact on our existing schools.”

Recent population studies show a likely shift in population growth toward southern Greenville County.

The Fountain Inn area’s population may more than double by 2030, from 9,100 to 20,700, according to a 2008 Greenville Pickens Area Transportation Study, which also pegged Simpsonville to have the second-highest overall population increase from 26,200 to 49,600 over the same time period.

Hastings said The road system is established and gives way to several different directions by which traffic could be maintained and nearby land could be developed into new homes.

Van Broad, Fountain Inn’s economic development director, said a high school would become the heart of the town and would “give back to our community the pride and spirit that a high school would achieve.”

Fountain Inn is the only Greenville County municipality without a high school now, and hasn’t had one since the former Fountain Inn High School close in 1957.

Simpsonville Mayor Dennis Waldrop said the new school would alleviate overcrowded conditions at Hillcrest High “and everybody will benefit.”

He supported the school and said that although Simpsonville has always considered Hillcrest as its hometown school, separating Fountain Inn and Simpsonville students would “heighten the pride that we have in Hillcrest to know that we have our own school.”

Jack West said he has two daughters who would one day go to the new school. A new school is needed as “Fountain Inn begins to blossom,” he said.

“If we add a new high school in Fountain Inn, it would add a great sense of pride and belonging to the residents there,” West said.

The school board didn’t discuss the proposal before it voted, but several in the audience broke into applause after the vote.

One of the many benefits of being a Fountain Inn Chamber of Commerce member is having the opportunity to participate in our Member-2-Member Discount Program.  This special program offers our Chamber members (and their employees) discounts on products and services from other Fountain Inn Chamber members. It also helps your business increase its visibility in the business community, and, best of all, there are no additional fees required to participate.

Member-2-Member Discounts are promoted throughout the year via the Chamber website, newsletters, and other emails. Discounts are listed on the Chamber website (www.FountainInnChamber.org).  Be sure to check often for the most current listings before heading to the stores. (Print out a copy to take with you.)

All discounts are subject to change without notice. For your business to participate, a couple of things need to happen:  ¨ Make sure your Ft. Inn Chamber Membership is current. (Only current members may participate. If you are not sure if your company is current, call us at 864-862-2586) ¨ Fill out the attached application form. Make sure the discount which your business wants to offer has a VALUE assigned to it such as: 10% off…, free drink with meal, $5.00 off with every $$$ spent, etc. You can change your discount at any time by letting us know what the change is going to be.

The Chamber hopes you will take advantage of this free program which is offered as a means of attracting more business for your company. Please call the Chamber if we can provide any further information about this exciting program.  [Read More]

Your success is our success!