Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes Bring Big Attention To This Itty Bitty South Carolina Restaurant
Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes bring big attention to a tiny little restaurant in McConnells, South Carolina. Sweet Caroline's went viral after a post about their Little Debbie inspired Christmas Tree Cheesecake.
I just remarked this week how surprised I was at the seemingly sudden popularity of the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. And, then today I read about a restaurant in South Carolina going viral for their Little Debbie Christmas Tree inspired cheesecake. The place is Sweet Caroline’s restaurant in McConnells of western York County South Carolina.
So, most regular visitors to Sweet Caroline’s know the restaurant for brisket and smoked prime rib. And, people also enjoy their cheesecakes. But, this year marked the return of a seasonal cheesecake they introduced last year. However, it came back this time like a thundering herd! After the restaurant posted a picture of the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes-inspired cheesecake, they didn’t know what hit them.
All of a sudden the post garnered millions of views along with tens of thousands of “likes.” And, the last count I saw had the “shares” at nearly 8,000. Of course, it’s probably more by now. Then, before they knew it the demand from online commenters to get the cheesecakes shipped poured in. But, the owners of Sweet Caroline’s point out that is an impossibility with costs and requirements and packaging for perishable dairy products. And, after all, it’s a little restaurant in a small town. The manpower just isn’t there for such a fulfillment.
However, it isn’t stopping people from coming out of their way to drop by to pick up the viral treat. And, according to The Rock Hill Herald, one such person decided to change their family plans from an Orlando gathering for Christmas to Spartanburg so they could be closer to Sweet Caroline’s to in order to grab one of the Christmas Tree Cheesecakes. They say last year they averaged cranking out a handful of cheesecakes a week, maybe 5 or 6. But, lately those numbers multiplied with 50 here and 20 there. And, they hope to offer the special viral cakes through New Year’s.
So, let’s just hope they don’t run out of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes in McConnells. They already pre-ordered a couple hundred boxes. And, another Facebook post hints that there’s a chocolate version coming. To learn more about the viral Christmas Tree Cheesecake at the little South Carolina bakery, see the full story from The Rock Hill Herald.
These South Carolina Restaurants Were Nationally Recognized As Hidden Gems
There are restaurants that deservedly receive a lot of attention and publicity. And typically for great reason. But now it’s time to delve into some different restaurants. Not necessarily the newest or the trendiest, but definitely some of the best. And these three restaurants in South Carolina are wonderful hidden gems. They were named amongst the top 25 hidden gem restaurants on TripAdvisor’s recently released Best of the Best list. This list is nationwide so to have any restaurant included is impressive, but to have 3 of the 25 is certainly something to be proud of.
The most surprising part of this? The three restaurants recognized by TripAdvisor are in three different cities. Typically we see Charleston receiving this recognition time and time again. And while it’s deserved (and one of these places is in Charleston), it’s also nice to see other South Carolina cities getting some love! All three restaurants are on the coast though. Not only was South Carolina recognized North Carolina also had two restaurants named as the best of the best hidden gems. If you aren’t good at math- that 20% of the best restaurants are in one of the two Carolinas.
Other states that got some love include New York, Tennessee, and Florida. Each of those states had multiple restaurants make the list as well. How were these restaurants selected for this top 25 list from TripAdvisor? TripAdvisor says that the Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best restaurants have “a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews” from users over a 12-month period. Fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor’s 8 million listings are awarded Best of the Best. You can read the full list and more about the 3 South Carolina Hidden Gems Award winners here. Love a restaurant and want us to highlight it? Let us know on social media!
Debbie Nance is the afternoon co-host along with her husband on "The Charlie and Debbie Show" at WSOC, Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been with the station for 18 years. Debbie is a CMA Award winner for Radio Personality of the Year. And, she has worked in radio for 40 years. Before her current afternoon position, Debbie spent more than a decade as co-host on morning shows in several markets across the Southeast. As a content creator for Country 1037, Debbie writes articles about food, new restaurants in the Carolinas and travel experiences.
