Owner of Crepes and Croissants will bring a French flair to W. Columbia with new cafe

Laurent Prescelti is opening a new restaurant, The Hideout, on State Street in West Columbia this month.

The Hideout will be a French cafe open for breakfast and lunch daily at 118 State St. Offerings will include salads, sandwiches, avocado toast, tartines, pastries and coffee according to Prescelti.

Precelti expects the restaurant to open between Dec. 10 and 20 as he wraps up preparations.

Prescelti owns Crepes and Croissants on Sumter Street in Columbia, which has been open for almost 9 years. He said he is excited to move to West Columbia’s growing Riverwalk District and is especially excited about the two-story restaurant space.

“I’ve always kept an eye on West Columbia because I love that area and I know that there are a lot of projects going on right now to revitalize the Riverwalk area,” said Prescelti. “I knew there was great potential to that building.”

The Hideout is decorated with vines wrapping around the cafe, exposed brick walls and an upstairs area in-progress that will be available for events in the future.

The building was formerly home to Cafe Strudel before the restaurant moved two blocks south in 2012.

After the pandemic is less prevalent, Prescelti said he eventually plans to open The Hideout for dinner. Initially, the hours will be from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

The Hideout is hiring baristas, food prep staff and cashiers. Those interested can email wecohideout@gmail.com.

This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 12:48 PM.