The mainstay on Main Street celebrates its 25th year of signature Southern food and hospitality
When Soby’s New South Cuisine opened on November 7, 1997, at 207 South Main Street, co-owner Carl Sobocinski was an optimistic twenty-nine-year-old who desired to be part of downtown Greenville’s resurgence. A student of internationally revered restaurateurs Danny Meyer and Pano Karatassos, Sobocinski also knew he wanted to have a small restaurant group. Fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and cheddar biscuits would be the priority, but it wouldn’t be long before the new restaurant would begin influencing Greenville’s hospitality community.
Twenty-five years later—a remarkable feat when the vast majority of independent restaurants close by year seven—Sobocinski’s goals have been realized. In the early 2000s, the Table 301 restaurant group was founded, which was merely the beginning of Soby’s legacy.
“We are a catalyst,” says Soby’s executive chef, Shaun Garcia, who has worked with the group for nearly twenty years.
Known to enjoy a calculated risk, Sobocinski has employed hundreds of staff at Soby’s alone, many of whom come to Soby’s completely green or with minimal experience in the restaurant business. After working within a structure that prioritizes true Southern hospitality, they either remain a part of the family or are equipped to move on to other opportunities, some as seasoned chefs and wine experts.
Greenville’s Hospitality Scene Branches out from Soby’s
Sometimes, those talented chefs come full circle, like Drew Erickson, executive chef of Table 301’s newest restaurant, CAMP, who was given a “Chef for a day” gift in high school and spent a day with Garcia. That one day led to employment and mentorship. When Garcia gifted Erickson The French Laundry Cookbook, it eventually inspired his several years in Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Yountville, California. Erickson returned home in 2020, ready to open his own concept with Sobocinski.
But when staff permanently moves on—like Josh Beeby, who owns The Trappe Door and neighboring Barley’s, or Alex Christofferson, who opened The Great Bay Oyster House in Greer—Sobocinski wishes them well and becomes a supporter, knowing Soby’s played a role in their success. “I always had a sense of pride that they’d mention working with us,” Sobocinski says. “I’m very proud of the fact that a lot of the people got their hands-on training here.”
In a recent new-hire orientation, Sobocinski told the fresh recruits how proud he is of Greenville’s culinary scene. He also told them how supporting other great downtown restaurants is part of Soby’s culture. Still, he takes a competitive approach to the camaraderie. “I played a lot of sports,” he says. “I like to win. I’ve also played a lot of sports against people who are very good friends of mine. We’re all in this together.”
That mindset has created a ripple effect across the Upstate’s hospitality community, with innumerable chefs, servers, general managers, and restaurant owners tracing their formative professional years back to their time at Soby’s. Aside from the technical skills and steps of service they teach, Soby’s greatest impact is its brand of true Southern hospitality and the impulse to help and give when there’s a need.
“The service style Soby’s embodies . . . I carry it with me today,” says Steven Greene, executive chef of The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary, North Carolina, and formerly of Table 301 restaurant Devereaux’s. “You make everyone who walks through the door feel like it’s a home. That’s true, genuine hospitality that the South has and not many other areas have.”
Kevin Born, a former Soby’s server who studied his way to the position of wine director, moved to San Francisco and has been wine director of Rich Table, awarded one Michelin star, since 2017. He says he draws from his Soby’s experience every day. “You have the opportunity to be a part of people’s special moments, but you’re really feeding their base needs to be loved, cared for, and fed,” Born says.
Teryi Musolf worked in the Table 301 group for sixteen years, first at Soby’s and then as opening chef of Passerelle Bistro. Now the executive chef at Camilla Kitchen, she says hearing Sobocinski repeat, “You don’t know everyone’s story,” will always inform the hospitality she extends to guests.
That signature hospitality extends to the menu as well. “I definitely learned internal hospitality, but [Carl] definitely wanted the focus to be about Southern food,” says Haydn Shaak, executive chef of Soby’s from 2015-17 and now leading the kitchen at Restaurant 17. “What he wanted people to leave with was always about that Southern flair, the soul food, the nostalgia food. He always harped on having generous portions like going to grandma’s house.”
Generosity, the Soby’s way, also means helping outside the signature exposed-brick walls. “The Soby’s team truly are citizens of our community,” says Erickson. “Without hesitation, Soby’s gets involved with the people of Greenville whenever there’s a time of need.”
Garcia recalls the immediate effort to “Brunch for a Cause” and fundraise for victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that has since been a model for similar group fundraisers when needs arise. “We help people we’ve never met or maybe have never been to our restaurant,” he says. “Being active in the community is important because we want to make the people around us have a better situation.”
It’s all possible because on a random Wednesday night, Garcia will be running a full staff for a packed house. Looking up, he’ll see a wait forming at the host stand.
“It’s a sense of pride,” Garcia says. “There’s still a line out the door twenty-five years later.”
