Breweries, coffee and more: Here are some businesses coming to the Columbia area in 2022
The retail, restaurant and business landscape is ever-changing in Columbia and the Midlands area.
It looks like that will certainly continue in 2022.
A host of restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other business locations are likely to open in the Columbia area in the coming year. Some of those are locally owned spots, while others will be new outposts of national chains that stretch from downtown Columbia to the suburbs.
While this is far from an exhaustive list, here are some businesses we’ve got our eyes on for 2022 openings. Obviously, construction timelines and various other factors — economic and otherwise — could play into when the businesses are actually able to open their doors.
▪ A Starbucks will open at Longs Pond Road and Interstate 20 in Lexington. The site is already under construction. More than 30 Starbucks are in Richland and Lexington counties, according to a store locator tool on the coffee giant’s website.
▪ Got chicken? You will be able to get some soon if you are out in Red Bank. Chick-fil-A will be opening a store on Platt Springs Road. Construction is underway.
▪ Residents of the Columbia area should soon have some of the cleanest cars on earth, as car washes have continued to pop up on major thoroughfares. Another one — Take 5 Car Wash — is on the way on Augusta Road near Interstate 26 in West Columbia. It is under construction now.
▪ Many have lamented the closing of Cover 3 bar in Five Points. But a new business is stepping up and taking over that storefront. Jack Brown’s Burger and Beer Joint will be located at 711 Harden St. Work is underway on the location.
▪ Craving cookies and more? Mingos Cookies, which already has a location in Lexington, will be opening a spot at 945 Lake Murray Blvd. in Irmo, according to Cola Daily.
▪ A longtime Southern staple in Charleston’s food scene is bringing its biscuits, grits and charm to the Midlands. Poogan’s Southern Kitchen plans to open in Forest Acres at the Cardinal Crossing development, near the Lowes Foods shopping center. The owners are hoping to open in spring 2022.
▪ Richland County Councilman Joe Walker III once owned a number of Marco’s Pizza shops in the Midlands. Now he’s sold those and turned his attention to another type of restaurant: coffee shops. Walker has secured the rights to open 25 Scooter’s Coffee locations across South Carolina, including several in the Midlands. He hopes to have some of the locations ready to go by the second quarter of 2022.
▪ Charleston-based bar Prohibition plans to open a Columbia location in the former Main Street Public House spot at 1556 Main St. It will be a 1920s-themed cocktail bar. The spot has been a Miracle Christmas-themed pop-up bar during the holidays, and will transition to Prohibition early in the new year.
▪ Another Broken Egg Cafe is coming to Lexington. The cafe will open at 929 N. Lake Drive, right in front of the Northlake Village Regal movie theater. Construction already is going on at the site.
▪ After winning a court battle with a nearby church over alcohol licenses, the Navy Yard Biergarten and Restaurant is looking to set up shop on Main Street in Lexington. The beer garden, which will boast a robust beer selection and an extensive food menu, is hoping to open in summer 2022.
▪ Despite a raging fire that happened in 2020, construction rolled on at BullStreet’s historic Babcock Building, where a $55 million project is underway to convert the building into more than 200 apartments. Developers hope that the first units will be ready for tenants in 2022.
▪ A brewery is coming to North Main Street in Columbia. Peak Drift Brewing Company, a project from the Middleton family that has opened numerous businesses in downtown’s Main Street corridor, is hoping to open in late 2022. The $34 million project will be located at 3452 North Main St. in Columbia
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
