TheState.com: Delawese Fulton

Talking Shop: One more development to report to you

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:21 EDT

Since starting this column in January 2007, I have met so many interesting people and learned of so many unique local businesses. And what I like best about it was I got to share community retail news with you.

Well today, I have a little development news of my own. I have accepted a buyout offer, and this is my last column as a retail reporter for The State.

Some of my favorite columns were about local entrepreneurs — such as Mae Buzhardt of Mae’s in Lexington, Harold and Gloria Rittenberg of Moe Levy’s in Columbia and Hopkin’s barbecue sauce maker James “Gene” Sumter.

I love getting scoops on redevelopment plans at Dutch Square Center and new tenants Steve & Barry’s and Burlington Coat Factory arrivals at Columbia Place mall.

In the coming months, be sure to keep the business staff abreast of any new stores, especially my replacement Neil White. (Reach Neil at (803) 771-8643 or nwhite@thestate.com.)

Clothes Encounters: Lourie’s says goodbye

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:50 EDT

After 38 years of operating his family’s business, Frank Lourie says his only regret is that there is not another relative to pass the business on to. It would have been nice to have someone who would have taken the charge and fought on through these tough economic times.

“I suppose I wish there was a younger cousin. But there was nobody else to hand it off to,” said Lourie, 60.

Lourie’s will shutter at 6 p.m. Saturday after 96 years of selling fine men’s wear. The store first opened in 1912 in St. George. In 1948, the family moved it to Columbia’s Main Street.

A very slow economy and consumers’ holding their purse strings tight delivered a year of slow sales to the men’s store. Attempts to build capital through a sale of its building at 1601 Main St. and plans to lease a smaller space did not work out in time to save the business, Frank Lourie said.

For the past month, the store has held a liquidation sale. And its once-overstocked inventory of designer suits, ties, shoes and shirts is now almost bare.

Talking Shop: End Zone kicks off at Jerry Kelly’s

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:54 EDT

The Jerry Kelly’s diner has gotten another start.

David Strasburger, who owned the former fine dining restaurant Carolina Moon, has leased the former Jerry Kelly’s space and reopened the diner this week as the End Zone Grille .

Strasburger is looking forward to his second shot in the restaurant business.

“I think it will be a lot simpler (than operating a fine dining restaurant),” he said.

Strasburger has decided to maintain and build on what Jerry Kelly and Sandra Collins had started three decades ago at 1332 Rosewood Drive.

Talking Shop: Monkey Business opens for parties

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:16 EDT

School is out. Summer will be here in two weeks. And, it is time for Monkey Business, says Dee Dee Gregory and Mack Galphin.

Gregory and Galphin have filled a warehouse near Hutto’s Plaza off Augusta Highway with all kinds of jungle- and animal-inspired mechanical rides, video game machines and a habitat for two live Vervet monkeys.

It is like a Chuck E. Cheese — but a bit more on the wild side, said Galphin, who manages the Lexington entertainment facility.

Monkey Business, the only child entertainment center west of I-20, opens today. And early interest has already netted the facility 85 birthday and special event bookings for this year.

Birthday packages range from $149 to $329. And, the amusement center offers payment plans for parents who need it.

Talking Shop: Athletic club goes for the Gold

Thu, 29 May 2008 21:27 EDT

Longtime Columbia Athletic Club members Lee Tsiantis and Pat Patterson say they will miss the camaraderie of the family-owned gym.

Yet, they are also looking forward to the services that Gold’s Gym will offer when the national chain takes over the club that has been part of the Forest Acres community for 26 years.

Gold’s Gym has bought a majority of the Forest Drive club’s 2,500 memberships and officially will become its new operator starting Monday.

Columbia Athletic Club’s owner W. Coley Brown decided to sell when he learned Gold’s Gym was planning to build a fourth area location less than a mile away from his facility at 4502 Forest Drive.

For many longtime members, the change is bittersweet.

Talking Shop: Saffron adds spicy touch

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:09 EDT

Saffron is spicing up the dining scene on Devine Street.

Open for about two weeks, the Moroccan restaurant has replaced Al-Amir Mediterranean at 2930 Devine and has brought a flavor-packed menu along with it.

The restaurant’s name is indicative of one of the many spices and herbs used to prepare its North Africa-influenced fare — including baba ghanouj, couscous, lamb kabobs, baklava and pizza.

“We just wanted to do something new,” Sarah Amar said of her and her husband, David,’s decision to open the restaurant, which neighbors Half-Moon Outfitters and Za’s Brick Oven Pizza on Devine.

Her husband’s years of working in his family’s Moroccan restaurant in Israel and her training as a chef readied them for the challenge of operating their own, she said. They chose to make a start in Columbia because she had friends and family here.

Survey | What will be your Thanksgiving fare?

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:11 EST

Retail reporter Delawese Fulton wants to know:

Do you plan to serve or eat turkey, ham, turkey and ham or something vegetarian.

Keep watch next week for a her story about the results. And if you want to argue the merits of ham over turkey, or vice versa, email her at ddfulton@thestate.com.

Talking Shop: Historic Columbia shop reopens

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:05 EDT

Art, replicas and fancies of the 19th century can all be found at the Historic Columbia Foundation’s Museum Shop.

Sure, it is off the typical and beaten path of retail apparel, accessories and electronics but finds at this store affect the consciousness.

On Saturday, the near 40-year-old shop — which sells collectibles, private-label jellies and jams, face jugs, goat’s milk soap and lotion and other whatnots — will reopenafter a month of renovations. The purveyor of history has modernized its digs a bit, said manager Jackie Rhodes.

The museum shop, at 1601 Richland St., is near The Township auditorium (on the Henderson Street side). Visitors can find souvenirs of the homes of first Federal architect Robert Mills, former slave and midwife Celia Mann, soldier and plantation owner Wade Hampton I and several others.

“We have so many things here that can enhance their experience of Columbia,” Rhodes said.

Bi-Lo to promote green grocery bags

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:34 EDT

Bi-Lo Inc. is the latest retailer to go green.

Although reusable market bags have been around for years, this is new for the Mauldin-based grocer.

Publix, Whole Foods, Fresh Market and other grocers and environmentally-conscious shoppers have long pushed and used cloth, reusable bags over the traditional paper and plastic — which some scientists say take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills.

Bi-Lo is piloting its green bag effort in about 80 of its more than 220 stores here and in Georgia and Tennessee, spokeswoman Joyce Smart said.

The Super Bi-Lo at the Village at Sandhill in Northeast Richland is participating in the pilot.

A 24-year-old former pharmaceutical sales rep opens a Devine Street shop that sells old-fashioned, handmade apparel

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:38 EDT

Clothier hopes dresses equal successes

TALKING SHOP

Annabelle Cain has brought her own brand of entrepreneurship, couture and Southern originality to Devine Street.

The 24-year-old former pharmaceutical-sales rep has transformed a hobby of making handmade skirts and dresses for family and friends into a business where she designs, sews and sells custom pieces.

Her dress shop is called LaRoque — which is her maiden name. “It’s original, vintage-inspired — with a modern twist,” she said of her clothing style.

Parents’ eyes on where toys come from

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:30 EDT

Local toy shop owners say the latest recall of Mattel toys has many parents asking where the product was made before they ask ‘How much?’

“Parents now ask for toys not made in China,” said Katie Rook, a manager at Be Beep A Toy Shop in Forest Acres.

Parents and toy shoppers are being more proactive than reactive to the recalls. Few major injuries have been reported from the recalled toys.

Parents generally are taking the recall in stride but are asking questions, consumer and retail industry analyst Britt Beemer said.

The most consumers can do is stay abreast of which toy products might be affected by lead contamination.

Jamaican eatery spices up Two Notch

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:42 EDT

You need an escape from all this heat.

So why not try one with an island breeze and a Jamaican twist?

Try a dine-in, air-conditioned treat at the new Island Spice restaurant at 10014 Two Notch Road.

Well, the Jamaican restaurant is not quite new to Columbia. It was a takeout eatery on Parklane Road for about four years before moving farther northeast to a large space at the retail center neighboring Rush’s on Two Notch.

Owner Andrew Blackfordsaid now his customers can come in, sit down and enjoy curry and jerk chicken, goat, pork, fish and island-style fruit cake.

Willy’s Bar is gone, but Vista Room is on tap

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:21 EDT

Back in March, it was announced that Willy’s Bar & Grill would close temporarily and reopen as something new.

Owner Bill Dukes said this week that Willy’s is gone for good and that the Vista Room at Blue Marlin will be in its place, 1200-B Lincoln St.

Dukes said Willy’s was a popular Vista lunch spot but that he wanted more of the dinner crowd.

The new Vista Room, adjacent to Dukes’ popular Blue Marlin restaurant, will have a separate entrance and host private functions and meetings.

The former Willy’s bar will be carpeted, well-lit and is set to open during the first week of September.

New store to boost Columbia Place

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:18 EDT

Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear’s opening today at Columbia Place is pivotal for the Northeast Richland mall, which is redefining itself.

In the two years since JC Penney’s left the mall to move farther north to the Village at Sandhill, several other mall tenants have done the same or have open second locations at the new center.

H. Rubin Vision Centers and a Hallmark store were the latest to relocate.

Fortunately for the mall, Columbia’s only Macy store and one of two Dillard’s stores remain and announced no plans to leave.

Steve & Barry’s, selling clothing staples of T-shirts and pants for about $10 apiece, is expected to help the mall become a destination shop for working families.

Columbia photo shop closing

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:05 EDT

Columbia Photo Supply Co. — the only remaining local, independent photography services retailer — will shutter its doors by month’s end.

After 35 years in business, owners Charles Edwards, Joan Edwards and Richard McIlwain have agreed to sell their Devine Street store to developers who will build a new retail center.

“We hate to close, ... but some developers have made one good proposal on the property,” Charles Edwards said Thursday, between tending to customers.

Dial, Dunlap & Edwards commercial real estate firm is managing the sale, which is expected to close in September. Owen Real Estate of Columbia plans to develop the retail center.

Edwards, 62, added that he is looking forward to retirement after working five years in the photo industry and spending another 35 running Columbia Photo. He plans to travel.

New Wal-Mart a big boost for Bush River Road

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:43 EDT

The new Bush River Road Wal-Mart Supercenter has given that area a much needed retail boost.

More than a dozen shops and eateries have opened nearby since the Wal-Mart near the Interstate 26 exit opened in May .

Even competitors are impressed.

“It should bring more customers,” said Stan Gomes manager of a Kmart store a mile away on Arrowwood Road.

Local retail analysts have not considered the Bush River area near the Richland and Lexington county lines a prime location for retailers or shoppers in recent years.

Shopping center may be transformed in the style of Village at Sandhill

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:15 EDT

TALKING SHOP

Could Dutch Square Center become the “Village at Dutch Square” — a smaller version of the live-work-shop concept retail center?

Two sources confirm discussions by developers in the past year to remake Dutch Square as an outdoor mall.

Anna Almeida, development services manager for Richland County, said center developers proposed the idea during a planning meeting with Richland County and Columbia city officials.

And a Columbia commercial real estate firm manager said he heard from sources close to center management that renovations could begin in late 2008.

Do you own a home business in the Columbia area?

Tue, 22 May 2007 12:46 EDT

In June, The State’s monthly business publication, The Columbia Business Journal, will report on home businesses.

If you own a new or established home business, share your experiences with retail reporter Delawese Fulton.

We would especially like to hear from home-based business owners who make or craft their products at their home.

Email Fulton at ddfulton@thestate.com.