Whether you’re looking for a sugary snack or a perfect dessert to cap off the evening, you’ll find some seriously sweet treats in Downtown Spartanburg. From a selection of ice cream flavors to doughnuts that are surprisingly good for you (yes, you read that right), we’ve got you covered.

ICE CREAM FLIGHTS

Hub City Scoops offers a wide variety of flavors in cups, bows and cones, including chocolate-dipped cones. So, we understand if you can’t make up your mind. Luckily, they’ve prepared for that.

A brewery staple – the flight, letting customers try small samplings of multiple flavors – has gotten sweet remix of sorts with Hub City Scoops’ ice cream flights. That’s right, you can try up to four flavors at a time.

There’s the espresso Oreo, blueberry cheesecake, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang (featuring Kit-Kat candy bars), cherry chocolate bomb, Matcha green tea and many, many more.

And along with ice cream flavors, Hub City Scoops recently expanded its menu with ice cream cake and sweet drink varieties available.

FRUITY OPTIONS

Greenville-based Cocobowlz opened a Downtown Spartanburg location in 2023, specializing in high-quality açaí and other smoothie-and-bowl flavored bases, and toppings including granola, fresh fruit, melted drizzles of Nutella, peanut butter, almond butter, and more available.

CUPCAKE CRAVINGS

Smallcakes Spartanburg boasts 18 cupcake flavors, baked fresh every morning. There are classics like vanilla and chocolate, but also more adventurous options like lemon drop and wedding cake. Smallcakes goes beyond cupcakes, too, with ice cream flavors like the Blue Munster Cookie, a blue vanilla ice cream with cookie crumbles, and the 24 Karrot, a cream cheese ice cream infused with carrot cake cupcakes.

Seasonal cupcakes make appearances on Smallcakes’ menu throughout the year. There’s the maple bacon, Tiramisu, and of course, pumpkin spice.

And if you’re feeling especially adventurous, Smallcakes combines its two primary offerings to feature cupcake-infused ice cream. Known as SMASHes, these rich, sweet treats are served in a can-shaped glass.

A JOLT OF CAFFEINE 

Inside the Aug W. Smith Building, Spill the Beans offers its caffeinated twists on sweet treats. The espresso milkshake is an optimal way to get some energy from your dessert, but Spill the Beans’ menu is full of ice creams and frappes – sweet coffee drinks that are hard to beat, especially on Spartanburg’s warm summer mornings.

Get creative, and mix your ice cream, toppings and a variety of syrup flavorings to create a custom milkshake or frappe.

At Little River Coffee Bar and The Pharmacy inside the Montgomery Building, you can find locally-roasted coffee included with signature drinks like mochas, blended espresso, and much more, along with a rotating list of beverages evoking the taste of each individual season.

Little River’s fall drinks include the Everything Nice, cold brew coffee expertly mixed with brown sugar and clove syrup, and the SPSL (sweet potato spice souffle), a cozy latte with sweet potato sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, all topped with a hand-torched marshmallow.

Past seasonal drinks include the Jack & Jenny Espresso Mule, a mocktail with ginger beer and espresso, and the Summer Storm cold brew topped with Earl Gray tea cold foam.

TOFFEE, TOO

Although it’s just on the edge of downtown, we’ve got to include Spartanburg favorite Dottie’s Toffee.

This homemade recipe has become a local staple over the decades, originating in Dot Smith’s kitchen back in 1976. The toffee blends decadent Belgian chocolate, sweet butter, cane sugar, whole and crushed almonds and just a pinch of sea salt to bring it all together.

Spartanburg’s sweet treats are plentiful, and most can be ordered online or ahead of pick-up and enjoyed indoors, outdoors or from the comfort of your own home.