Popular Greenville dessert spot to open second location at BridgeWay Station

Listen to this article

Hughes Investments Inc. revealed its newest tenant coming to BridgeWay Station in Mauldin this spring.

Old Europe Desserts, which has been in business for nearly 30 years at its original downtown Asheville location, expanded to the Upstate in the summer of 2019 — by opening its Greenville location on Main Street — after Asheville businessman Bobby Daugherty, a former vice president with Smith Barney and serial entrepreneur, entered the culinary scene by partnering with the original owner of the Old Europe Asheville location, Melinda Vetro, a few years prior, according to a Hughes Investments news release.

Vetro and Daugherty partnered for the Asheville location of the popular dessert spot from 2015 until 2019, when the partners made the decision to dissolve the partnership and pursue their own business endeavors, according to Daugherty. Vetro currently owns and operates the Asheville location, while he separately owns and operates the Greenville location and upcoming Mauldin location, he added.

While Old Europe Desserts in Greenville is no longer affiliated with the shop in Asheville, its inspiration and menu are similar, keeping true to the authentic European roots and tradition — such as the new location — taking inspiration primarily from Hungary, Austria, Germany, Italy and France. The menu will include a wide variety of sweet, savory, vegan and gluten-free options.

Related content: Developer looks to complete first phase of BridgeWay Station this year

Related content: Food hall concept coming to BridgeWay Station in Mauldin

Daugherty’s understanding and love for Greenville — and the surrounding area — originated from his football days at Furman University, the news release said. While at Furman, he earned an economics degree and helped lead the football team to victory in the 1988 national championship game.

And Daugherty’s choice to bring Old Europe to the West End in downtown Greenville has been successful and recognized as a popular dessert spot, according to the news release.

“The decision to open a new location at BridgeWay Station will give Daugherty the ability to expand Old Europe’s celebrated reputation and reach new customers in a new walkable, mixed-use environment,” the release said.

The menu at the Old Europe Desserts BridgeWay location will be similar to the downtown Greenville location, carrying between 18 to 24 desserts at any given time, including seasonal treats, macarons, coffee, wine, breakfast, catering and a grab-and-go lunch menu, the release said.

“Phil Hughes is a visionary who is incredibly passionate about any project that he is involved in,” Daugherty said in the release. “It was this passion that struck me when his team reached out to me about coming to BridgeWay. Just being around him, you are able to feel his passion and commitment to make BridgeWay a success. That area of Greenville County has been underserved for years and Phil’s project is a game changer for the folks in the Mauldin, Five Forks, and Simpsonville area. This is a project that the entire upstate region can enjoy and be proud of and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Old Europe Desserts will occupy 2,547 square feet of ground floor retail on BridgeWay Station’s Main Street, according to the release, and joins Cohesive Coffee, Belladina’s Italian Market, The Junkyard, Plum: A Lifestyle Boutique, Yogi’s Cups and Cones, Cocobowlz, City Market at BridgeWay Station, BridgeWay Brewing Co., and Poogan’s Southern Kitchen as other retail tenants, along with a few others that will be shared publicly soon. These retailers will be incorporated into the project alongside previously announced office and institutional users, including Dodge® Bearings and Power Transmission, GREEN Charter Upstate High School, Jackson Marketing, Motorsports & Events, and Spectrum.

“We have long desired a good bakery in the BridgeWay community – a place that can serve as a daily, familiar stop, or a place for special occasions where important memories can be celebrated,” said Phil Hughes, owner and president of Hughes Investments. “Old Europe Desserts is exactly that place. We’re excited to partner with Bobby (Daugherty) on this new location, where we think his European desserts will be perfectly complemented by the European architecture and aesthetic of this project.”

BridgeWay Station broke ground in April 2021 and is currently under construction as the first New Town Center development in the Upstate, featuring 69,939 square feet of retail, 210,824 square feet of residential, 81,000 square feet of institutional development (GREEN Charter Upstate High School), 75,000 square feet of office, 24,691 square feet of plaza and pavilion public space, and more than five acres of parks connected to the Swamp Rabbit Trail via the new pedestrian bridge spanning I-385 that is also currently under construction. T

The pedestrian bridge is slated to open early this year, and BridgeWay Station’s grand opening is anticipated for this spring.