Retailers filling Whole Foods complex

Edens development company has nailed down retailers for about 80 percent of the Whole Foods-anchored Cross Hill Market under construction near the intersection of Garners Ferry Road and Devine Street.

Shoppers will see a mix of local and regional retailers, such as Charleston Cooks!, and unique national chains, including Nadeau Furniture, designed to mesh with the long-sought-after upscale grocer.

“This is going to be a really good-looking project and a lot of people are excited about it,” said Lyle Darnall, managing director for Edens – formerly Edens & Avant – a major East Coast shopping center developer based in Columbia.

“(The surrounding) communities are genuinely energized by the transition that is going to take place in this whole area. I think people can taste it,” Darnall said.

The company planned to announce the new retailers Saturday night at a food truck rodeo on the property, giving nearby residents a chance to meet the new shopkeepers.

They also include: Hand & Stone Massage and Facial; American Roadside Burger; M Boutique, which is moving from Devine Street; and Jamie Scott Fitness, moving from Rosewood Drive.

The stores are on target to open around the same time as Whole Foods, roughly the end of October, Darnall said.

“This thing’s moving very fast,” he said.

Marianne Bickle, director for the Center of Retailing at the University of South Carolina, expects the rest of the center to fill up quickly with that mix of stores.

“The property developer is being very smart in saying we want those stores to be successful and we’re waiting for the right client,” she said. “They’re working very aggressively. It’s going to help residential property; it’s going to help everybody.

“It’s the momentum of Whole Foods,” she said.

Edens, which also manages Trenholm Plaza in Forest Acres, has rarely seen such community enthusiasm about a shopping center development, Darnall said.

“Everywhere we go, people are asking us about the Whole Foods,” he said. “I think there’s some pent-up demand.”

Edens is gutting and renovating the former Kroger grocery store on the property. Whole Foods will take 37,000 square feet – or about 75 percent – of the store. The new retailers will take the rest of the old store and an additional 22,000 square feet that will be built.

That leaves room for a couple more restaurants – one of which will be a fine-dining establishment -- and about four additional retailers, Darnall said. Two outparcels also are planned.

Bickle expects the whole area to flourish, much like Sunset Boulevard near Lexington did several years ago.

“Five years ago, it was nothing but dirt and now for three miles, it’s shopping development after shopping development,” she said, because developers brought in the right mix of retailers.

Stores such as Charleston Cooks! and Nadeau Furniture should do well in this market, she said.

“Cooking shows are the No. 1 most popular shows on TV right now, so for them to put in a cooking store, especially when you have cooking classes, is absolutely a very smart strategic plan – and of course, it’s next to Whole Foods,” she said.

The furniture store also aligns well with the grocery store, she said, because it brings in specialty items that are hard to find elsewhere.

“The property developer is being very careful,” she said. “They’re doing a really good job. I expect the next four retailers will be filled very rapidly.”