SPARTANBURG — Vic Modica gets to his restaurant an hour and a half before it opens. He turns on the steamers, dumps in the azu and preps the condiment fridge, all so he can serve his customers as efficiently as possible.
It’s all part of a routine he’s built as he worked to open Bronzeville Bites, a Chicago comfort food restaurant named for a historic South Side Chicago neighborhood.
It opened in September at 160 S. Pine St., but was initially slated to open by the end of 2024.
“My father and my brother passed away, and I had some health issues,” Vic Modica said. “It really set us back.”
Vic and his wife, Charmaine Modica, are Chicago natives who created Bronzeville Bites together after moving to Houston in 2019. In 2021, they moved to the Upstate and based Bronzeville Bites in local breweries such as The Whale and Traveler, as well as local festivals. They built a following across the Upstate, but wanted to create a permanent place for people to come to.
“I thought about it. My father, my brother, wouldn’t want me to give up, and I’m not the type of person, so I just roll my sleeves up and get busy,” Vic said.
The restaurant the Modicas opened reflects that focus. The Italian beef, a 6-inch Italian beef with hot giardiniera and sweet peppers, and the Chicago dog, served with mustard, green relish, white onions, two tomato slices, pickle spear, two sport peppers and celery salt, are the reason people routinely come back. The menu is intentionally short, offering their two signature dishes and caramel cake.
“For a mom-and-pop, I believe they should have a small menu and specialize in it and make it perfect,” Vic said.
Although Bronzeville Bites wants to introduce people to the taste of Chicago, the restaurant makes an effort to support the Spartanburg community. They get candy apples from Spartanburg’s How About Them Apples. They also get their infamous caramel cake from Nostalgia Sweets, making the cake from a recipe Charmaine gave them. Alongside Vic, the three other employees are all Spartanburg natives.
Dining and Cooking