More dining choices coming to West Columbia
Coffee lovers and fans of Mexican cuisine will have new choices soon in West Columbia.
Plans call for a Starbucks coffee shop and Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina to share a new 4,500-square-foot building near I-26 and Sunset Boulevard, city Economic Development Director Donna Smith said.
Starbucks’ arrival in West Columbia is “coveted by a lot of people,” Smith said. It will be the 13th stand-alone Starbucks and third Salsarita’s in the Columbia area, according to each company’s website.
The site for the side-by-side businesses at Sunset Boulevard and Chris Drive is on a main commuters’ route a few blocks east of Lexington Medical Center. The location also will be the first to have both the coffee shop and a Salsarita’s in the same building. In the Vista, the two are a block apart.
Salsarita’s is a 15-year-old, Charlotte-based, casual-dining chain that has locations in 19 states.
Both are settling in an area around the hospital, which has some two dozen restaurants clustered around it, including a Denny’s across the street that opened in April.
It’s unclear when the two new locations will open, but development of the site is not expected to be lengthy, Smith said.
Reach Flach at (803) 771-8483
Starbucks, Salsarita sites in metro Columbia
The Seattle-based coffee giant’s website said there will be 13 stand-alone locations in Richland and Lexington counties and three that are housed within retail stores:
▪ Two are in the Vista and Five Points
▪ Three are along Garners Ferry Road in east Columbia
▪ Four in or near Columbiana Centre in the Harbison/Irmo area
▪ Three in Northeast Richland, including around the Village at Sandhill
▪ One in Forest Acres
▪ Two in Lexington
▪ One coming to West Columbia
Salsarita sites
▪ One in the Vista
▪ One Lexington
▪ One coming to West Columbia
This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 11:53 AM.