On January 20th from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in Indian Land (238 Fort Mill Hwy.) will be holding a spagetti dinner fundraiser. You can opt to eat in, or you can take it to go! Plates are $7 for adults and $4 for children aged 8 and younger.

If you are craving some pasta AND want to help them earn some money, then check it out!

My family recently ventured over to Fort Mill BBQ Company, which is located in the Stockbridge shopping center at the intersection of Gold Hill Road and Rte 160. We had delayed going, despite loving BBQ, because upon reviewing the menu we saw prices that seemed a little high – even for BBQ.

The restaurant’s appearance has changed little from the previous inhabitants. Rather than record album covers gracing the walls, you are faced with signs lauding the achievements of the FMBBQCo’s BBQ in various competitions.

And there’s a reason they’ve won some achievements: They have excellent BBQ. We sampled two plates – the Carolina pulled pork platter with smoked corn and french fries; and the 1/2 rack of ribs with hush puppies and potato salad. We also got a chicken fingers/mac ‘n’ cheese plate for our kids to split. Our cost, when drinks were added in, came to about $30 for all four of us to eat.

After a few minutes our food came out, and wow did our $30 go a long way. Our plates were heaped high with food – well worth the prices we initially thought were too high. But when we tasted the food we realized just what a bargain we had.

The pulled pork had great flavor all on it’s own and we opted not to add sauce to it in order to enjoy the natural flavor. The rack of ribs were moist and fell of the bone just like it should. The sauce on the ribs was delicious.

The sides were good as well. My children downed their mac ‘n’ cheese as though they hadn’t eaten in days, and my daughter, in particular, loved the hush puppies. My husband praised the smoked corn, while I heartily enjoyed the potato salad.

As for the staff, they were all exceedingly friendly and more than once someone stopped by the table to make sure we were satisfied with our food. They were also patient with my husband and I as we tried to decide what to order in the first place, despite the fact there were a couple people waiting in line behind us (we went on a night when it was very crowded).

You can count us as big fans of Fort Mill BBQ Company, and it’s highly likely that we’ll become regulars there. Despite slightly higher prices than you would get with typical fast food, the portions are outstanding, the flavors are fantastic, and the fact that it is a locally owned business can’t be beat. What’s more – they now offer DELIVERY!!

Despite what you hear on the national news, houses in Fort Mill ARE selling. They may take a bit longer to sell, but they do sell. And for pretty close to asking price, too.

Every once in a while I ask local realtor Carmen Miller for an update on the real estate market, and there has been some good news! In the 4th quarter of 2009, homes sold in Fort Mill were on the market for about 100 days and received 97% of their listing price. In November 2009 alone, Indian Land had great stats – the homes that sold averaged a mere 30 days on the market and got 98% of asking price. Tega Cay’s sold homes garnered 96% of asking price after almost 150 days on the market.

Not as many homes sold in 2009 as were sold in 2008, but that’s not surprising given the nature of the market on the whole. It’s also highly likely that many buyers, hearing of such huge drops on the national landscape, were hoping that prices would drop here and kept holding off on putting in offers. Fortunately, our price drops were miniscule in comparison with other areas of the country.

Moving forward, I’m not the only one with high hopes in 2010. I’ve heard more than a few people talk about diving into the Fort Mill housing market this year, whether it’s selling in order to upgrade their home in another part of town, or buying their first place. My hope is that in 12 months time we’ll all be breathing a sigh of relief as Fort Mill, Indian Land and Tega Cay continue to remain a constant in the national landscape of real estate improvement.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

If you’ve driven by the old Backyard Burgers next to the Harris Teeter on Rte 160 in Fort Mill, you’ve no doubt seen a flurry of activity in the previously vacant building. Rumors abounded among some that a Cook Out! was going in its place, since other Backyard Burgers in North and South Carolina had been replaced that way.

However, this time around two local residents are opening up their own food joint, which will focus on burgers, hot dogs, and wings. Not quite fast food, but not exactly haute cuisine, Bull Feathers is due to open sometime in late February 2010. I know my husband will be a new fan – he loves wings and will most definitely be checking out the place. Frequently.

**UPDATE ON FRIDAY, JAN 8** As you know, no snow fell last night, and schools will open on time today!

With nary a raindrop falling from the sky, the Fort Mill School District is already putting out the notice that they’ll announce by 6 a.m. whether schools will be open tomorrow, Friday January 8. I was joking earlier today that, given the district propensity to close school when it snows in Atlanta (or even anywhere within an hour’s drive, to be honest), then it’s highly likely schools will be closed tomorrow.

But that’s just me. I could be wrong. And it could always snow tonight, too, justifying the possibility of cancelling school. We’ll see. We’ll be sure to post the info here on ScoopMill if school is cancelled. Sleep well!

Every month Grapevine Wine Bar in Baxter Village hosts a networking event to let local business owners have a bit of a meet and greet while sampling the delicious wines and beers behind the counter.

January’s Networking night is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, January 6, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. To RSVP for this event you merely send an email to Melanie Sills at melanie [at] grapevinewinebar [dot] com so they can have a nametag ready for you at the door. There is never a fee to attend this event.

Red Ventures plans to hire 80 new workers, and is planning to host a job fair from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, at its new Fort Mill headquarters on Corporate Center Drive. The company announced it is seeking to fill many full-time sales jobs which have a base pay, commissions and benefits.

Red Ventures is a company which specializes in acquiring new customers for companies in home security, satellite TV and other industries and plan on hiring more than 400 people this year, company officials said. For tomorrow’s job fair, interested candidates should pre-register online at the Red Ventures website.