Shopping, drinking, yoga-ing and more: Check out new businesses in downtown Lexington
With half of all U.S. adults now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and mask mandates lifted in many places, more people are getting back to their pre-COVID lifestyles. But what has changed in more than a year since regular life was disrupted?
Despite widespread fear a year ago that the pandemic would lead to the permanent closure of many small businesses, Lexington saw a boost in new businesses over the course of the pandemic, especially in the Main Street and Sunset Boulevard corridors.
The town approved more than 200 new business licenses since March of last year, when businesses first had to shut down as COVID-19 first hit the Palmetto State.
In May, just a couple months after the shutdown, 101 E. Main St. welcomed Craft Axe Throwing, a venue where you can enjoy a drink in between tossing a blade through the air at a target, and Reiki by Joy, a wellness studio focused on the Japanese “energy healing” alternative medicine practice, opened at 519 E. Main St.
The pattern continued in June with the opening of the Flight Deck, an aviation-themed restaurant and arcade, at 109 Old Chapin Rd. near the intersection of Columbia Avenue and West Main Street. Southern Gentleman’s Barbering Company, which already operates a successful barber shop in Five Points where customers can sip a beer while getting their ears lowered, opened a Lexington location at 5335 Sunset Blvd. that same month.
A couple weeks later, Sweet Pea Children’s Boutique opened its doors at 103 E. Main St. Down the street at 821 E. Main, they were joined by 360Elite, a “cheer fitness technique studio.”
Farther up Sunset Boulevard, Mingo’s Cookies opened their sweet shop near Home Depot around the end of August, while the European Foods Grocery Store opened its doors at Sunset and Mallard Lakes Drive in October.
In March of this year, the Leaf Lover’s Plant Shop opened at 720 E. Main St. in the front part of Rhoten’s Country Store, taking advantage of a rise in plant ownership during the pandemic lockdown. Meanwhile, Yama Yoga Health & Wellness opened its doors at 201 W. Main St., making space for more people to take their vinyasa flow in person as classes become safe again.
Business is taking off so quickly, it’s hitting up against some limits. Earlier this month, the Navy Yard on Main, a new beer garden, was denied an alcohol license by state regulators because it was too close to St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church.
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