Huddle House looking to come to Columbia, Midlands

Huddle House is looking to open three locations in the Midlands--including in the city limits of Columbia--within the next two years, a company executive told The State on Friday.

"We've been in South Carolina for 36 years and have 36 locations statewide but for some reason we've never really hit right in Columbia proper," said Christina Chambers, vice president of franchise development for Huddle House.

The Atlanta-based company is currently in the process of vetting franchisees who would be interested in opening locations in Columbia, Elgin and Winnsboro. They are also looking to reopen locations in Sumter and Orangeburg within the year.

"For the most part we've focused on small towns, and rural, outlying areas but we're looking right now at the evolution of our brand and we're really starting to target some of those smaller--and even major--metros," Chambers said. "Columbia has that Southern hospitality and a hometown feel even though it's a city. For us it makes total sense to locate there."

In terms of exact areas of interest for the locations, there is major flexibility, Chambers said.

"We have freestanding locations with land that the franchisee has purchased; we have endcaps where the franchisee has leased a location on the end of a shopping center; and we do co-brands with travel centers, convenience stores and hotels--that’s actually been a big push for us right now and a big target of ours for the last year,” Chambers said. “So we can't really pinpoint a location until we know who we're going with and what their interests are first."

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Huddle House looking to come to Columbia, Midlands."