In just over a year and a half of service, the Starving Artist Café in downtown Easley has become a fixture on Main Street.

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EASLEY – In just over a year and a half of service, the Starving Artist Café in downtown Easley has become a fixture on Main Street.

“Easley is where we live and I think it is important to see a community grow through its Main Street, so that was a big part of the decision in deciding to put the restaurant on Main Street and be part of the community, said Vicki Ciplickas, owner and operator of the Starving Artist Café.

According to Ciplickas, the café’s name and theme was chosen by someone in the family.

“When we originally opened the restaurant, the back portion was used by the owner of the building who was consigning art back here. Since it was already kind of a gallery, we thought “The Starving Artist” sounded like a good name,” Ciplickas said. “But in all honesty, it was my nine-year-old daughter that came up with the name and designed the logo for the restaurant. She came up with the whole theme.”

The Starving Artist has seen considerable growth recently in its catering services.

“We have seen the restaurant portion grow, but I think the biggest growth we are seeing right now is catering. We are doing a lot of catering both on-site and off-site. In the last two or three weeks we have catered off-site for more than 500 people and it has been really exciting,” Ciplickas said. “I see that part of the business growing in a big way.”

Ciplickas feels that the growth and future of the café will walk hand-in-hand with the growth of Main Street.

“Mainly what I would like to see is Main Street grow. I think that our growth is going to be very dependent on the growth of the street itself and seeing new businesses come down here,” Ciplickas said.

Ciplickas believes that Main Street in a city like Greenville can serve as a guide to Easley.

“When you see Main streets in general, I think they always start with restaurants and then grow from there, Greenville certainly did. Now that there are some great places to eat, I would really like to see more shopping and foot traffic on Main Street here,” Ciplickas said. “Just in general, it is a pretty little town and I would like to see more traffic come back down here to the little mom and pop stores.”

The Starving Artist Café has been on Main Street in Easley since May, 15, 2011.