Shop Around: ‘Food & Wine America’ honoree to open bake shop on Columbia's Harden St

New York chef and former Columbia resident Sarah Simmons will open her Harden Street bake shop and restaurant, Rise, Oct. 2.

Rise, at 926 Harden St., is a joint venture between Simmons and former Oak Table pastry chef Charley Scruggs. Last year, Food & Wine magazine named Simmons one of the 50 best chefs in New York City after the Spring Valley High graduate won a Food & Wine America’s Home Cook Superstar restaurant just four years prior with no previous restaurant experience.

The Rise menu will change throughout the day with an early bird selection of freshly baked breads and spreads, pastries, breakfast bowls and sandwiches in the morning; a midday menu featuring soups, sandwiches, salads and sweets; and gourmet family meals on weekday evenings from 4-8 p.m. featuring dinners for four.

At Harbison, Michelle Wang’s most recent restaurant venture, M Kitchen, opened Sept. 8 at 340 Columbiana Drive. Wang started her Columbia restaurant business two decades ago with the Asian-inspired Miyo’s on Main. Though that restaurant closed in 2013, Wang’s M Gourmet Group restaurant empire continued to expand as later that same year, she and husband Rui Cao opened M Grille in the Vista. With the opening of M Kitchen, the M Gourmet Group now operates eight restaurants across Columbia, Irmo and Lexington.

And in Forest Acres, Starbucks dedicated its newest Starbucks Military Family Store at 4840 Forest Drive near Fort Jackson on Tuesday. The store is the 12th Military Family Store created by Starbucks since the company announced in 2013 that it would hire at least 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018. The company’s goal is to operate 30 such stores nationwide by the end of 2016.

The dedication of the Fort Jackson store marks the commencement of Starbucks’ partnership with the local chapter of the USO. Veterans and military spouses who are employees at the store will don patriotic aprons adorned with an American flag and their military affiliation. The store also features patriotic decor and merchandise.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 5:03 PM.