by Kirk Gowlitzer
Soulisa’s Dining & Music House, a new Thai-Japanese /Asian fusion restaurant, celebrated their grand opening Thursday night in the heart of Landrum.  Owner Mike Southern and his wife Joy welcomed a capacity crowd to their newly renovated space located at 208 E. Rutherford St.  Janet Sciacca, Executive Director of the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce, took the stage for the ribbon cutting, along with a hand full of other chamber board members, which included Dulcie Juenger, Rick DeLuciano, Kathy Toomey, Vice President and Robin Julian, Treasurer.
Jim Peterman’s band broke the seal, becoming the first band to perform to the freshly painted and crisp new room full of familiar faces.  “Jim Peterman worked closely with me over the past several weeks to maximize the room acoustics.  We installed a new sound system and fitted sound baffles from the ceiling,” said Southern.
Southern said that he will be striving to enrich the community with live music, powerful new bands and extended room to dance.  Southern said that his primary investment in the restaurant was dedicated to the expansion of the kitchen which boasts exceptional equipment devoted to cooking Thai and Japanese cuisine.  “We will continue to offer our cook-to-order menu which includes fresh vegetables and delectable chicken and meat, however we plan to extend our offering with late-night American and Asian tapas (appetizers),” said Southern.
Joy Southern’s sister, brother, sister-in-law and nieces will be back in the kitchen and out on the floor performing the duties they are quite accustomed to and Southern said that he has hired additional bartenders to meet the increased demand in the bar.  Two large screen televisions screens adorn the walls behind the bar along with an impressive line-up of cold draft beer, which will provide the area with yet another venue to enjoy great food, refreshing drinks and perhaps an exciting baseball game as the long summer months approach.
Like most grand openings, Southern expected challenges with new staff members, newly installed kitchen appliances and much larger bar crowd.  Southern graciously warned the customers during the ribbon-cutting to expect delays and surprises during the evening but in the end the opening was a resounding success as the community of well-wishers applauded the overly anticipated kick-off.
For more information about Soulisa’s Dining & Music House visit  www.soulisas.com, www.facebook.com/soulisas or by calling: 864-457-5318.