Vista art studio eyes move after getting squeezed out by proposed farmers market plan
A market that would offer produce from local farms, baked goods and other items is being planned for Lady Street in the heart of downtown Columbia’s Vista shopping and hospitality district.
Meanwhile, Studio Cellar, a paint-and-sip art and event business that is currently located where the market is planning to be, will have to exit the space. The studio’s owner said it has not yet finalized a deal for a new location and is seeking investors to help make a move happen.
The farmers market project is being planned for the ground floor at 912 Lady St. in the Vista. Neset Hikmet, a developer on the project whose family owns Toms Creek Family Farms in Hopkins, said he thinks the district needs a market where customers can visit daily to pick up fresh produce, house-roasted coffee and more.
“The idea came to us where we said, ‘Why don’t we do it the old fashioned way, where people can walk in and grab a couple of tomatoes or other items they will need that day?’” Hikmet said. “They will know that it’s fresh and there would be a variety, because it may not be the same every day. ... We want to build an environment where people who live around there, or who come to work and then go home, can pick up fresh produce, fresh meat, fresh bakery items.”
Hikmet said the market would have dedicated space for sandwiches, fresh coffee and a small bakery.
The former warehouse at 912 Lady St. was completed back in 1914, according to Historic Columbia, and was originally built for Kirkland Distribution Company.
The city’s Design/Development Review Commission voted on July 21 to support some changes to the building’s exterior, including replacing four windows on the building’s west side with roll-up bay doors, a nod to the original design of the building.
Toms Creek Family Farms often sells produce at the weekend Soda City Market in Columbia. Hikmet said Toms Creek produce will be available at the Lady Street market, and products from other South Carolina farms also will be offered. A name for the facility has not yet been selected.
City Art, the art store and gallery that is around the corner and addressed at 1224 Lincoln St., is not associated with the overhaul of the Lady Street property for the market, Hikmet said. It remains open.
Hikmet said his group recently struck a deal for the purchase of the first floor of 912 Lady St. for the market project. The plans are forcing the exit from that space of Studio Cellar, an art studio that offers paint-and-pour classes where customers can create art and sip wine, along with event space and other art-related uses. Studio Cellar has been in operation and leasing the Lady Street space since 2013.
Studio owner Charlotte Gaskins told The State that the shop has been working hard on finding another spot nearby in the Vista where it can move but has not yet finalized such a deal. As it is, the studio has to exit the first floor space at 912 Lady St. by next week, Gaskins said.
Gaskins, who said business at the studio has been thriving, said she has been eyeing the purchase of a new space for Studio Cellar but has run into some roadblocks, including rising interest rates and other factors in an uneven economy.
“We are at the point of seeking investors to try to save the business,” Gaskins said. “We are hoping to put something out there ... trying to reach an investor or someone who wants to see Studio Cellar stay in the community.”
Hikmet, who is a professor at the University of South Carolina, said the farmers market has an “aggressive” plan to prep the space at 912 Lady St., and he and his family are hopeful the market will open this fall.
He thinks the time is right for the market.
“South Carolina is a farming state,” Hikmet said. “We should highlight that and encourage other younger generations to look into farming, and supporting the local economy. We don’t have to depend on faraway products. South Carolina is healthy, climate-wise, and capable of producing many products.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 1:07 PM.
