A downtown Spartanburg bar offers you the chance to DJ, take control of the entertainment
Downtown Spartanburg’s The Hiker Hub is letting customers take control when it comes to their new weekly entertainment series.
The downtown bar, located in the back of The Local Hiker (173 E. Main St.) is now hosting two bimonthly events, Tabletop Thursdays and Saturday Spins where attendees direct the entertainment based on the night’s theme.
“Customers are a huge part of my store, so I want them to feel like they have a voice in the kinds of things we do here. It doesn’t make sense to just put on events that’s us up here always talking and doing things and being in charge of everything,” said The Local Hiker owner Kathy Silverman. “I feel like they should, if they want, play an active role in the kind of events we have here.”
Silverman said their first Saturday Spins event, held March 11, was a success. During the event, attendees can bring their own records to play for the crowd.
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“We've now created a sign-up sheet and people can come in and put their names on the list. They get to pick a couple of songs off of one of their albums,” Silverman said.
Guests can put their name on the list more than once if everyone attending has had a turn. Silverman said the first event saw a good amount of genre and even some limited-edition vinyl.
“We had a wide assortment of music from Grease to John Denver to The Doors to Led Zeppelin,” Silverman said.
Tabletop Thursdays take place every other week. Attendees can bring their own board or card games or play one from the bar's game library.
“We thought that'd be something a little bit different,” Silverman said. “So people can bring in their own board games or use some of the ones that we have here if maybe they don't have people to play with them at home or just want to make some new friends.”
The two events are held on opposite weeks. The next Saturday Spins event is March 25 (6-9 p.m.), and the next Tabletop Thursdays event is March 30 (6-8 p.m.).
Guests can also enjoy some light bites from the bar and choose from their selection of beers, wines and ciders during the events. The bar also offers non-alcoholic and gluten-free options.
For Silverman, who celebrated the bar's second-anniversary last month, the events are a way to offer something more to customers new and old.
“I hope we bring in some new people who didn't know we were here, and for other people, I hope they can make new friends out of it, or maybe learn a new genre of music that they enjoy that they maybe didn't know anything about before," Silverman said. "I think it can be a win-win for us and the customers."
Samantha Swann covers food and restaurants in Spartanburg County. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her with your burning restaurant questions, recipes, and new dinner specials at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sameatsspartanburg. Can't get enough food news? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for foodies, Spartanburg Eats.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Downtown bar lets guests take control during new community events
