Mortgage Broker in Taylors, SC

Katy Perry had this to say about Tripp Taylor, an 18-year-old from Florence, after he auditioned for “American Idol.”

“People are going to remember your name.”

Taylor got rave reviews from all three Idol judges, who joked that Taylor looked like he could be Lionel Richie’s son. Richie said he considered that a compliment.

Taylor had previously said he was most excited about meeting Richie because he was a fan of old soul genre. He elected to sing a Ray Charles tune, “I believe To My Soul,” and accompanied himself on the piano.

In this introduction, he described Florence as “not the biggest town” where there isn’t a lot to do.

“It’s not like the best place for racially ambiguous people,” he said. “But you find the good things to look at whenever there are a lot of bad things around you.”

He said he’s been singing all his life. His dad and sister sing as well.

Judge Luke Bryan said, “I really like your attack at the mike. When you open up … the promising thing is you’ve got your own kind of sound. It’s just the right kind of gravel and grit.”

Perry called Taylor a diamond in the rough.

“You’ve just got all of it. First and foremost is talent. You’ve got the ‘it’ factor. You’ve got the name to go with it. You’ve got humility.”

Richie praised Taylor’s stage presence, but cautioned once he went to the next level — Hollywood — he would find it shocking because everyone thinks they are No. 1.

“I think we can vote this guy into the next part of his life,” Richie said.

Taylor graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville last year and is a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, majoring in musical theater.

Beside piano, he plays tenor saxophone and has a large presence on TikTok with more than 345,000 followers and 6.6 million views.

American Idol appears at 8 p.m. Sundays on ABC.

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. —

A Greenville County family is together for the holidays after a solder surprised his mom and brothers with a return home, with months of planning help from his dad.

Brian Forrester, of Taylors, shared the joyous video with WYFF News 4 through uLocal.

See other uLocal videos here.

"We have been working on this for months and it's been quite stressful," Forrester said with a laugh.

Forrester's son, Pvt. First Class Devin Winn Forrester, called him over the summer to tell him he was coming home for the holidays and wanted to surprise the rest of the family, which includes his two brothers, Aiden and Andrew.

Devin, who joined the Army in August 2021, is currently stationed in Italy with the 173rd Airborne Battalion, Forrester said.

Forrester's wife, Heather, hadn't seen her son since then and spends most of her time at her home or taking care of her parents. Heather's mother has breast cancer and her father has dementia.

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"My wife is a little hard to get out of the house," Forrester said of Heather, referencing her daily care of her parents.

Forrester arranged for Heather's sister, Cathy Schmidt, to take her out on a Christmas night out.

Finally, on Dec. 17, Forrester arrived at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport with 11-year-old Aiden.

Devin was able to walk up to his brother from behind and surprise him at the airport.

One surprise down, one to go.

Forrester's young son was waiting at the front door and opened it as his mother got home.

To say the hard work and surprise planning paid off is an understatement, as anyone can see from the video.

"When I saw him, all I wanted to do is reach out and touch him and hold him," Heather said. "In that moment, I thought of all the times that I was scared for him, and wanted to be with him after a mishap that left him in an Italian hospital," she said.

Even the dogs, Gunner, Toby and Kona looked excited and surprised.

"We are so proud of our son but have missed him dearly," Forrester said of Devin. "It will be a great Christmas this year with his return - even for a short two weeks," he said.

The Southern Bleachery has broken ground on phase two of their multimillion-dollar restoration of the old textile mill off Main Street in Taylors.

The Southern Bleachery is a planned multi-use event and retail space restored to the National Park System's historical preservation guidelines.

The project is in phase two, will cost roughly $10 million and be completed by the end of next year, owner and developer Lawrence Black said.

When the master plan is complete in a couple years, more than three buildings and roughly 15 acres are planned to support numerous businesses, events and trade shows.

The wedding space at the neighboring Taylors Mill is also called the Southern Bleachery, but the name also applies to the massive project underway on the front half of the historic textile mill. Even though the wedding venue is in Taylors Mill, it is still owned by The Southern Bleachery development team.

The collection of brick and metal buildings sits clustered together and are a part of the overall Southern Bleachery development, but each space will "have a different identity," Black said.

The project was approved to receive tax credits by Greenville County Council. The credits are part of the South Carolina Textile Communities Revitalization Act, which give qualifying projects tax credits that equal up to 25% of the total expenses.

"Renovating the buildings to the historical standard is so much more expensive, and it just wouldn’t have been possible without it," Black said of the tax credits.

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Junto Coffee and The Marketplace are the two venues currently open for business, but Black and his team has a litany of other projects coming over the next year.

The Butler Building

Situated on the left side of the road as soon as you enter the Mill's property, the white aluminum Butler Building will house Junto Coffee's roasting operation, a raw seafood bar and a bakery. A grassy lawn and outdoor seating will be available for patrons. Black said construction will begin in earnest in two months and will cost $1.4 million.

The Butler Building has a tentative opening set for June 2020.

The Boiler Room

The red-bricked building houses one of Taylors Mill's two smokestacks. Demolition is underway, with the original windows set to be restored and installed by October. Black said it will be leased, but he would love to see a boutique hotel, co-working space or design studio fill the historic building. The estimated cost to renovate is $2.6 million, Black said.

The Boiler Room will take the longest to complete. If a hotel moves into the space, it won't be completed with the rest of the project. "A hotel will push us into 2021," Black said.

The Filtration Building

Tucked into the corner of the property between two retention ponds, the Filtration building was once used to filter the mill village's drinking water. It's being used as a workspace for the window restorers, but will be utilized for smaller weddings and events, like corporate retreats.

A renovated craftsman-style home a few yards from the building will be used as private bridal and groom suites for weddings. The project will be finished in a few months and cost $625,000, according to Black, who is the property's sole developer.

The upper retention pond will be filled with water and restored, and the lower pond will be landscaped for a dog park, according to Black.

The Hill and The Tree House

The Warehouse's long body ends in the base of a terraced hill known as The Hill. There already have been events on the grassy expanse, but outdoor restrooms, a food truck-meets-outdoor patio and a playground will be added by mid-October, according to Southern Bleachery special events manager Nathan Brannon.

The tree House sits at the top of the hill, offering a view of the mill and the surrounding woods. Black said he was inspired by his "9-year-old maturity level," his three young sons and the treehouse at Bluffton's high-end resort Palmetto Bluff.

The treehouse will be ADA-compliant and have three levels for kids to play. It's one of "six or seven" child-friendly play areas planned for the property.

Black also is planning to add more trails throughout the property. A 900-foot paved pathway — which Black said was paved to the same standards as the Swamp Rabbit Trail — is in place. Cypress tress, wildflowers and more grass are all set to be installed by late October. In total, Black said landscaping will cost around $800,000.

Shark Tank

It's not a new renovation or business, but Black wants to host a Shark Tank-style public forum for local entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas for two planned vendor locations.

The bakery space planned for the Butler building and the current space Junto Coffee is in (the coffeeshop will be moving to a smaller building on property within the next year).

Parking, parking, parking

Along with the the three lots currently in use, Black said two more lots, an additional 600 spaces, will be added. The three parking ares already in use will be paved in the coming weeks.

The neighboring Taylors Mill has several hundred parking spaces, but Southern Bleachery visitors will have their own ample space to park once the project is completed next year.

TAYLORS, S.C. (WSPA) – Bobby and Julie Gregory of Taylors, South Carolina, had no idea when they decided to add a puppy to their family that their beloved Pebbles would hold the record for the oldest dog alive almost two decades later, according to a press release from Guinness World Records.

The four-pound Toy Fox Terrier, who was born on March 28, 2000, is now 22 years old, proving to the world that anything is “paw-sible,” according to the press release.

The Gregorys knew Pebbles was older after hearing about TobyKeith, the world’s oldest living dog.

“Bobby was sitting on the couch and friends and family started texting and calling about a story they saw about a 21-year-old dog getting the record,” said Julie.

“When I saw TobyKeith’s story all over the news, I applied.”

On the other hand, Pebbles’ schedule resembles that of a party animal. She spends her days sleeping in till 5 o’clock in the afternoon and listening to country music, according to the press release.

“She loves listening to country music while she is sleeping. Her two favorite country singers are Conway Twitty and Dwight Yoakam,” Julie continued.

Pebbles has something to eat and drink as soon as she wakes up from her canine slumber before staying up all night, according to the press release.

Pebbles was once a happily married dog, but she became a widow in 2017 after her 16-year-old “husband,” Rocky, a Toy Fox Terrier, died.

The two had 24 puppies together, according to the press release.

“Pebbles doesn’t have a favorite toy, but she loves to snuggle under blankets,” said Julie.

Pebbles enjoys warm weather and likes to sit on the stairs of her family’s pool and soak up the sun during the summer.

Remarkably, Pebbles still has quite an appetite and looks forward to enjoying her meals, according to the press release.

In 2012, her veterinarian placed her on a cat food diet, which is said to be much higher in meat-based protein than dog food, according to the press release.

So, what’s the key to helping a dog live a long and healthy life?

Julie recommends showering your pooch with love, attention, and plenty of food, according to the press release.

“Treat them like family because they are. Give them a happy positive environment as much as possible, good clean food and proper healthcare,” said Julie in the press release.

Have you heard about Pinky’s Revenge in Greenville? Were you a kid of the 80s? Did you wear jelly shoes, listen to Thriller on your Sony Walkman, and eat rectangular-shaped pizza every Friday at school?

If you said yes, then hold on to your banana clip – because Pinky’s Revenge is the perfect arcade to get your 80s fix! If you have no idea what most of those things we mentioned are, it’s ok. We are going to tell you all you need to know to understand why you should be excited!

Pinky’s Revenge In Greenville Is Everything You’ve Dreamed Of

Rewind (who remembers “Be Kind Rewind”) … Rewind back a million years to January 2020. Word that a new arcade venue was opening spread and we couldn’t wait until the May 2020 opening date.

Then things happened. Unforeseeable, unavoidable, unbelievable, and unforgettable things. I watched (ok, maybe stalked is the more appropriate word here) the Pinky’s Revenge social media pages as they documented the slow progress over the past year. My patience paid off when they finally opened in 2021!

If you are a child of the 80s, you will certainly be in heaven. But, don’t worry if you can’t understand why someone would ask “Where’s the beef?”, you’ll enjoy this hop back in time too! You just might not understand why people are losing their minds over rectangle-shaped pizza.

Who Is Pinky, And Why Is She Out For Revenge?

The namesake of this venue is a woman dealing with unrequited love, and she’s not happy about it. Pinky is one of the four main ghosts in the Pac-Man series. Being the only female ghost, she attempts to ambush Pac-Man by moving parallel to him. The Pinky character has been shown to have a crush on Pac-Man, which normally goes unreciprocated, so understandably, she’s not thrilled at the situation.

The Games At Pinky’s Revenge

There are dozens of activities to keep you and your family busy at Pinky’s Revenge! You can even attempt to figure out the trick to making more than a weird-looking square with the Etch-a-Sketch toys that are placed on tables around Pinky’s. Games will be $15 for unlimited gameplay, and access to newer games will be by the hour. The arcade has dozens of gaming consoles and multiple pinball tables to choose from as well!

Pinky’s Has School Pizza On The Menu!

NOTE: Pinky’s Revenge is currently unable to get old-school pizza due to distribution issues, but stay tuned to their site or social media pages to see if they get it back!

This may be something that you had to be around in the 80s to appreciate now. We old folks were served this weird rectangle-shaped pizza on Fridays in school. Kids now are given slices of circle pizza at school, and the shape totally makes the pizza taste different! Just take my word for it.

Other delicious things on the menu at Pinky’s Revenge include boiled peanuts, White Castle Sliders, nachos, pretzels with nacho cheese, and hot dogs with optional toppings. PLUS you can order off the Weekend Express Menu from The Farehouse!

All The Things You Need To Know To Plan Your Trip To Pinky’s Revenge in Taylors Mill

Pinky’s Revenge Facebook | Pinky’s Revenge Instagram250 Mill Street, Taylors | 864.520.1072