It has been nearly eight years since Joe Clarke and Darlene Mann-Clarke launched a new venture, but now the couple behind one of Greenville’s first farm-to-table restaurants (American Grocery) and first speakeasy (Vault & Vator) is bringing their unique touch to Spartanburg.
Enter The Zeplin, a craft cocktail lounge with a touch of gastropub inspiration, opening in the heart of downtown Spartanburg early this year. It will occupy what was the former boiler room of the historic Montgomery Building. The space has been empty for decades, but Darlene and Joe saw opportunity in the storied space with its dust-covered walls, high ceilings, and boiler machinery.
The new venture is as much personal as it is about passion. Joe Clarke grew up in Spartanburg, and his brother is also a partner in the project.
“We wanted to do this for a multitude of reasons,” Joe says. “A, the space is too cool for it not to be something like this. B, it was an opportunity to build something cool in our hometown.”
Behind the Zeplin Name
The name is a twist on the Zeppelin, an airship that is often used as a symbol of the steampunk movement. The founders were inspired by the boiler-room setting to play into steampunk’s retro-futuristic aesthetic.
If you’d told the teenage Joe that he’d one day bring a craft cocktail bar to Spartanburg, he wouldn’t have believed it. But time can do a lot to change a person’s perspective, and time can also bring a lot of change to a city. Today, Spartanburg is creating new businesses and renovating buildings like the Montgomery.
The changes are similar to those Joe observed in Greenville in 2007, when he and Darlene opened American Grocery Restaurant. The city was then on the precipice of growth, with a population hungering for new and different cuisine.
Much of the couple’s success can be attributed to how they each found an inspiring life and business partner in the other. They met while both were attending the University of South Carolina, bonding over a shared love of food and wine.
They moved to Los Angeles in 1993 for Joe to pursue a career in the film and television industry. The city’s dining scene energized them, and they spent their free time exploring and eating and drinking their way around the city.
Over the course of those 12 West Coast years, Joe also developed a deeper passion for cooking. Darlene found a passion for wine, working in the industry and earning her Level 2 Sommelier certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers. They began to talk about opening their own restaurant.
But LA was not the right place. They toured cities in the Southeast—and were close to settling in Charleston or Charlotte—when they found a space that fit their budget in the heart of Greenville’s West End.
“The Greenville scene ended up being more attractive,” Joe says. “I wouldn’t have imagined it, but Greenville had grown so much in such a great way.”
American Grocery heralded a new focus on farm-to-table cuisine in Greenville. Joe pounded the fields to source ingredients from an array of local farmers and producers, changing the restaurant’s scratch-made menu based on what was available. His menu made a case for beef tongue and confit of rabbit thanks to deft culinary skills and seasonal ingredients.
Vault & Valor Experience
In 2017, the duo opened Vault & Vator, bringing a similarly detailed approach to craft cocktails. When AGR closed that same year after a decade in service, Joe almost took an executive chef job in St. Simons Island, Georgia, but it didn’t work out.
They felt the pull to remain in the Upstate. When Joe got the call to look at the old boiler room of the Montgomery Building, he felt a familiar sense of excitement. That excitement lasted through COVID, through changing investors and delays.
The Zeplin was meant to be.
“It’s crazy how stuff happens,” the chef says of life’s twists and turns. “It’s nice to be able to contribute to the growth of this town, and as a Spartanburg guy to be able to build something here that people can enjoy and hopefully will.”
On the Menu
Expect a tapas-style food menu and craft cocktails that are built around seasonal flavor profiles and spirits, with scratch-made syrups, tinctures, and shrubs. Plans include cheese and charcuterie boards, albondigas (Spanish meatballs), dips, and paninis. During warmer months, a patio will offer additional seating.
The Zeplin, 187 N. Church St., Ste. A, Spartanburg
