If students are unable to get a coffee at Springs during a certain time of day or are tired of PC’s dining options, then there are new exciting flavors on the way.

Starbucks and Bojangles are currently in the process of building new franchise restaurants close to campus, both of which are at the intersection of I-26 and SC-72. The news was first reported by The Laurens County Advertiser. 

It will be Bojangles’ second restaurant in the area following the other location near Springdale Drive and SC-56. As for Starbucks, counting out the location in Springs, it will be the first fully-run franchise in the city, with other nearby locations in Greenwood, Newberry and in the Ingles Shopping Center in Laurens.

“Not only will they provide services to the citizens, but maybe more importantly, they will serve traffic from I-26. Travelers will contribute significantly to our tax base and we won’t have to provide services to them,” Marvin Moss, Clinton’s Economic Development Manager said.

With construction about to begin on the new restaurants off Exit 54, Moss stated that it was important to help bring economic revenue to the city.

He also talked about how it will be convenient for everyone, especially with drivers coming off and on the interstate from Spartanburg and Columbia, as well as tractor trucks driving in from the Charlotte metropolitan area off SC-72.

“There are over 40,000 vehicles that pass Exit 54 daily and with the easy accessibility, makes it the perfect location to capture traffic off the interstate. Interchanges in both Spartanburg and Columbia are much more difficult to access,” Moss said. “Developing the interchange increases the tax base as well as the utility base which benefits the city. We built Clinton 26 Commerce Park on the north side of Exit 54 with hotels, restaurants and convenience stores on the south side to complement the industrial growth in the park.”

In helping get the restaurants under the right doorstep, Moss and the City of Clinton worked with restaurant representatives to help get all the designs, permits, and utilities under contract.

“We worked with realtors on both of these restaurants. Our utility and building/planning departments worked with them on the approval of designs and permits and in the case of Starbucks, annexation of the property into the city,” Moss said.

In terms of when the restaurants will be open, the news will be exciting for PC students and area residents looking for a nice cup of coffee or spicy fried-chicken, especially when students head back in the fall.

“Bojangles has already started construction and should be open by late summer. Starbucks is scheduled to start site preparation this week and should be opening in the fall,” Moss said.