Shop Around: Urban Cookhouse plans second Midlands location

Weeks before the opening of its initial Columbia location, Urban Cookhouse restaurant has broken ground on its second location in the Midlands.

The restaurant chain, which opened its first location in 2010 in Alabama, has leased the 5,000-square-foot space at 1072 Lake Murray Blvd. in Irmo in the space once home to Atlanta Bread Co. Atlanta Bread Co. closed in May 2014 after just two-and-a-half years of operation at the location.

In November, Urban Cookhouse submitted an application for special zoning for a drive-through pickup window at what would be its first Columbia location at the corner of Devine and Sims Streets in the Shandon neighborhood. Despite protests from area residents who claimed the window would add congestion and impair pedestrian safety, the Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals approved the request 4-1.

Urban Cookhouse operates with the slogan, “Buy local. Eat Urban” and uses locally sourced produce in its menu which includes items such as lime-marinated steak and rice, wood-fired shrimp kabobs and mixed greens salads.

The eatery currently operates three locations in Alabama and one in Georgia. The Shandon location is expected to open by this summer, along with locations in Mt. Pleasant and Nashville, Tenn. The chain's corporate office is on Devine Street.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Shop Around: Urban Cookhouse plans second Midlands location."