30 years in Hawg Heaven

PROSPERITY — On March 17, 1994, on CR Koon Highway in Prosperity, a small, family-owned, barbeque and country buffet restaurant opened. Thirty years later, Hawg Heaven is still open and has become a staple in Newberry County.

“It’s an accomplishment, 30 years. I think the average lifespan of a mom-and-pop restaurant is five to eight years in a small town like this,” said Summer, owner Penny Hamm’s daughter said.

The idea of opening a restaurant started with Penny’s father, William Long, who wanted to open one in the 70s. In 1987, Long and his brother opened barbecue a restaurant in Clinton, S.C. A few years later, Long and his wife Roxanne opened another barbeque restaurant in Mauldin, S.C. Both restaurants were family-oriented, something that did not change as Penny and her ex-husband opened Hawg Heaven.

“It was barbecue and county buffet and we were family-oriented,” said Penny Hamm, owner of Haw Heaven. “We always wrapped around family.”

Family has always been an important matter for Hawg Heaven. It influences choices that have been made, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the restaurant hours changed on Sunday. The decision to close them was made and remained in place so Penny and the employees of Hawg Heaven could focus on spending time with their families.

“I will never go back, as of right now, to opening at night on Sundays because I know it took time away from our children, our only family time on the weekend,” said Penny Hamm, highlighting how demanding the restaurant world is and how much family means to her.

The word “family” does not end with blood. As Hawg Heaven’s popularity grew, their family did as well. Hamm explained how customers and the community have helped make the Hawg what it is today, from slogans to menu choices, even playing a role in creating the buffet that the restaurant is known for. For a while, Hawg Heaven was the only buffet in the area.

“I would say our customers created our buffet because we had a limited amount of food that we served,” Hamm explained. “But then, over the years, customer requests kept growing and growing. So we started this and that. I’d say 90% of the menu are the customers. They’re the ones that help create the salad bar and the menu items.”

For the Hawg, the customers and community are everything and are considered just as much a family as the employees and Hamm’s own family. The Hawg and its regulars have been with each other through major life events for one another. Regulars who don’t show up are asked about and regulars who do show up have their drink orders brought to them before needing to tell the servers.

“We’ve watched families bring in their babies and watch them graduate college,” said server Kimberly Murphy, who has been with Penny and the Hawg almost since the start.

“Families have been raised in this place,” Hamm added.

The Hawg will see customers they haven’t seen in years and greet and be greeted as if it were only a few days. They sometimes receive calls from those who have moved away asking if they’re still open so they can stop by during visits. Hamm explained how, even after years without contact, former employees and Newberry County residents will ask about one another and check in.

“We may not see them in years and they say ‘I wanted to come by and see you guys,’” Murphy said. “Customers have come here for years and we watch them get older and they become our family. We get close to them.”

The close community that’s been built around Hawg Heaven has stuck with each other through it all. Over the past 30 years, Hawg Heaven has changed, whether it has been hours, menu items, changes with the times, or even the way the restaurant operated, the regulars and customers have stayed by the restaurant’s side.

“I haven’t been with her for the whole 30, but 29 of those years and I tell people now Sundays are busy but I remember when Sunday was our slow time,” said Murphy.

In the last 30 years, Hawg Heaven has highlighted the importance of family and community. Hamm explained how important they are and how much they have meant to her and the rest of the Hawg, stating that they could not have done it without them. Family is what Hawg Heaven was built around and what it continues to build itself upon today.

“We’ve been extremely blessed the whole 30 years,” Hamm said. “Our community and customers have given back it us as much as we’ve given to them. We are so blessed and thankful for them.”

Hawg Heaven can be found at 11375 CR Koon Hwy, Prosperity, S.C. 29127. Although they do offer carry-out, make sure to dine in and see what has made the Hawg a staple in Newberry County since 1994.