AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) – A new restaurant is coming to the building that once housed Aiken Brewing Company.

Since the “brew pub” closed in March, nearby store owners and people who live in Aiken said the area hasn’t been as busy. They’re hoping this new restaurant, called Electric Eats, will help change that. 

“On days when the weather was good there’d be a lot of people out there for lunch, we’d have people come in that were waiting for their food,” said Martha Wise, the owner of White Rose Eclectics. “So now it’s just a little quiet over there, we’ll be happy when something gets re-opened in that location.”

It will have the same owners as Neon Fig, a restaurant just down the street.

“I love Neon Fig, I love their menu and their food and they have really nice specialty cocktails,” Wise said. “It’s my understanding that this restaurant, what they’re doing is casual dining, and [it’s] going to be open for lunch and dinner.”

There will be some renovations to update the spot while maintaining its vintage feel.

Other local businesses hope the restaurant won’t be too different from the brewery, and are excited for some more business to come downtown.

“I’ve been to Neon Fig, the food is great,” said Catherine Gouge, the manager of Pitter Patter Children’s Boutique. “But, I definitely am very hopeful that it’s still gonna have that kind of neighborhood bar feel, where we can just go and hangout and see everyone from Aiken.”

And while others are still upset over the brewery closing, they said anything is better than an empty building.

“I liked what was here before, but what’s going to be is what’s going to be,” said Stephen Heyl from Aiken.

The restaurant should be open by the end of summer. The owners were unavailable to speak, but we’ll provide updates.