In the Loop | Eat More Tees on the move

The iconic Columbia T-shirt company Eat More Tees plans to move its West Columbia operation into a building being vacated by Pope-Davis Tire Alignment and Brake across from the State Fairgrounds.

Kevin Schumacher, co-owner of Eat More Tees, said he hopes to move into 1227 Rosewood in January. He will be buying the building under a lease-purchase arrangement, he said.

Schumacher has about 16 employees in the West Columbia store and factory at 7447 Meeting St., which he currently leases.

Schumacher and partner Russell Kossalso recently opened another outlet in Lexington.

Screenprint Express is at 4884 Sunset Blvd., near the Lexington Pavilion. The shop sells custom screened T-shirts and golf shirts, specializing in a two-day turnaround.

• Office building fetches $9.25 million

Columbia’s office market is proving to be the hot spot for investors that national commercial real estate firm Sperry Van Ness said it was.

A fully occupied three story office building at 1001 Pinnacle Point recently sold for $9.25 million to a private investor from Maryland.

Sperry Van Ness/Lighthouse Commercial in Charlotte represented the buyer. Bruce Harper of NAI Avant in Columbia represented the seller, local private investor and developer John Bailey.

Showing the strength of the local market, there were 15 offers on the 3.3 acre property near I-77. The 54,695-square-foot, Class A office was built in 2002.

Tenants include the University of Phoenix and Climatic Group. Sperry Van Ness recently named Columbia one to the 10 hottest markets for real estate investors.

• Barker joins Red Rock in Charlotte

John Barker Jr. has been named senior vice president of development for Red Rock Developments, the commercial real estate development company led by former Holmes Smith Developments partner Bill Smith.

Barker will be based in the Columbia firm’s Charlotte office.

• New headquarters for New Carolina

New Carolina, South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness has opened a new world headquarters in Columbia.

Offices of the organization, which is working to increase the per capita income of all South Carolinians through clustering and economic empowerment, are located in Suite 315 of the S.C. Municipal Association building, 1411 Gervais St.

• Columbia chamber honors volunteers

Rose Jackson of S.C. Women in Business, has been named diplomat of the year by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

Other honorees at the chamber’s Annual Gala at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center were:

• Manufacturer of the Year — Nucor Building Systems Group;

• Diversity Advocate — Shirley Mills, USC;

• Small Business Person of the Year — Jay Wedeking, SOHO Hero; • Volunteer of the Year — Todd Wagstaff, Comfort Services;

• Women in Business Advocate — Barbara Blau, DP Professionals Inc.

• Woodrow Wilson Award for Community Service — Henri Etta Baskins, AT&T

• Young Professional of the Year — Holt Chetwood, Wachovia.

• Manufacturing salute moved to Columbia

For the first time in its 13 year history, the Salute to Manufacturing luncheon will be held in Columbia instead of Greenville.

The May 5, 2008, event at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center will mark a rotation for the annual event to locations throughout the state.

The event is sponsored by the Silver Crescent Foundation and honors small, medium and large manufacturing companies from throughout the state, as well as student finalists in the S.C. Design Challenge.

For more information, visit www.salutetomanufacturing.com.

• You could be flying out of Sioux City

First-time fliers in or out of Columbia Metropolitan Airport are sometimes puzzled by the airport’s code CAE.

But veteran air traveler Emerson Smith of Metromark Market Research, notes it could be a lot worse.

If you’re flying in and out of Sioux City, Iowa, your code: SUX.