"The absolute best family restaurant in the upstate." That's how one neighbor described a diner on Wade Hampton Boulevard that spent two decades dark before anyone under thirty ever tasted its food. The restaurant is back now, in the same building, with mostly the same menu.
Taylors has a mix of newer restaurants, familiar places, local events, and parks. Here are a few options to consider when planning a weekend.
The Diner That Came Back
The Original Harvey's Family Restaurant sits at 3209 Wade Hampton Blvd, between Rutherford Road and Edwards Road, and it first opened its doors back in 1993. It ran for seven years, built a loyal following, then closed in 2000. For roughly two decades the address sat without that name on the door. Then it reopened at the same location, and the reaction from longtime residents tells you something about what people actually value: not novelty, but continuity.
The menu leans hard into the classics that made it a staple the first time around. Neighbors on Nextdoor point to the dressing and gravy, squash casserole, sweet potato crunch, banana pudding, green beans, potato salad, and macaroni pie as the dishes worth planning a Sunday around. The restaurant still keeps a sunroom available for birthday parties, church luncheons, and civic meetings, the kind of low-key community infrastructure that doesn't show up in a marketing plan. It's open every day except Saturday, which fits the rhythm one Yelp reviewer described: "packed on a Sunday after church but we were seated quickly and served right away."
That history offers one point of comparison for the newer restaurants nearby.
What's Actually New on Wade Hampton
A few blocks in either direction, Stack & Smash Co. is currently serving smash burgers and eight flavors of wings out of 2801 Wade Hampton Blvd, open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. Rusty's Rooster Shack has built a following around smoked wings and handmade sauces, Cajun ranch and ghost pepper ranch among the favorites reviewers call out by name. The Southern Growl gets praise for beer pairings and a regular trivia night. These are good places. People like them.
Restaurants and storefronts change over time, while familiar places and newer concepts both contribute to Taylors.
The SC Pawpaw Festival in Taylors
The SC Pawpaw Festival started in 2022 at Blue Oak Horticulture, a hobby farm at 198 Fews Bridge Road in Taylors, and has returned to the farm each year since.
This year's edition lands on Saturday, August 29, running from roughly 2:30 to 8 p.m. The festival has grown well past a simple tasting-and-tree-sale format. Past editions have brought in speakers like botanist Patrick McMillan and Musser Fruit Experimental Farm's Marcy Dallman, live sets from acts like Karson Kern and Pretty Little Goat, and a rotating lineup of food and drink vendors, the kind of programming that keeps expanding without anyone needing to rename the event. One parking pass covers everyone riding in your car, and a free pawpaw tasting ticket waits at the gate.
Here's the thing worth noticing: an event celebrating one of North America's most obscure native fruits has grown since it began in a small pocket of Greenville County.
The Park Getting Quietly Better
David Jackson Park at 25 Fowler Road doesn't get the same online buzz as a new burger spot, but it's been improving in ways that reward people who actually use it. The park has long offered a paved walking trail that loops around five baseball diamonds, a sunny playground, picnic shelters, and restrooms. Reviewers now flag a newly opened nature trail as an addition to that system, giving walkers and joggers a shadier, more wooded option alongside the flat, ballfield-adjacent loop that's existed for years. Dogs are welcome on leash, with waste stations along the path, and the whole property is maintained by Greenville County Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
None of that required a press release. It just happened, gradually, the way public infrastructure tends to improve when nobody's counting on a grand opening to justify the investment.
Three Taylors Places, Side by Side
| What it is | How long it's really been around | What's different this year |
|---|---|---|
| The Original Harvey's Family Restaurant | Opened 1993, closed 2000, sat dark roughly two decades before reopening at the same address | Open daily except Saturday, same recipes, same sunroom |
| SC Pawpaw Festival | Started in 2022 at Blue Oak Horticulture, same Fews Bridge Road address every year | Same tasting-and-tree-sale core, with speakers and live music added most years |
| David Jackson Park trail system | Paved ballfield loop has existed for years | A newly opened nature trail extends the walking options |
Together, these examples show several ways local places evolve: Harvey's reopened at its original address, the festival has expanded since 2022, and David Jackson Park has added a nature trail.
What This Means If You Live Here
If you're deciding where to spend a Saturday in Taylors this month, here's a practical way to think about it:
- Grab lunch at Original Harvey's before 2 p.m. on a weekday if you want the sunroom to yourself, or brace for the after-church crowd on Sunday.
- Save August 29 for the Pawpaw Festival at Blue Oak Horticulture. Bring the whole car since one parking pass covers everyone, and get there early enough for the free tasting ticket at the gate.
- Walk the new nature trail at David Jackson Park before the ballfield loop gets crowded with weekend games, especially if you're bringing a leashed dog along.
- Consider trying a newer restaurant on Wade Hampton alongside familiar places in your rotation.
None of this requires deciding anything about a house. It just offers a few ideas for spending time around Taylors.
If you're ever curious how any of this ties into the bigger picture of buying or selling in Taylors and the surrounding Upstate towns, that's a conversation for another day. For now, go eat the banana pudding. Then walk it off on the new trail.
Laurel Caylor has spent years learning the Upstate one neighborhood at a time. Let's Connect — Schedule Your Consultation whenever you're ready to talk about what's next.
