Irmo market to join a housing complex catering to USC students. What we know
An Irmo eatery and market is joining Chick-fil-A and Knowledge Perk Coffee Company as the third retailer in the ground floor of Gateway 737, a downtown student housing complex opening this fall.
Dave and Leslie Duffy opened Roxanne’s Market in 2023 in a shopping center on Dreher Shoals Road. There, diners can order sandwiches, soups and salads. The market also has sauces, drinks, grab-and-go meals as well as bracelets and earrings.
The husband and wife duo have been in the restaurant business for around 13 years, but Roxanne’s was their first non-franchise venture, Dave said.
They plan to open the Vista location in the complex at 737 Gadsden St. by September 1, just in time for football season.
Located at the corner of Greene and Gadsden streets, Gateway 737 is across the street from Colonial Life Arena and not far from other apartments such as Greene Crossing, the Apartments at Palmetto Compress and 650 Lincoln.
Roxanne’s Irmo location has an older crowd, with many retirees in the Lake Murray area frequenting the store. Since the new location will be catered toward University of South Carolina students, the Duffys are adjusting offerings to suit the new customers.
Anticipating a younger clientele, the market side of the new location will have products like toiletries, medicine and school supplies.
“Any of those students in that area right now, if they need Tylenol, they have to walk across Assembly Street to get to the CVS,” Leslie said. “And so we’re bringing something right there that will have a lot of stuff that they’ll just need. … So they can just walk within a couple blocks.”
The Irmo market sells frozen casseroles that feed up to 10 people, often bought for family gatherings. But the downtown Roxanne’s Market will likely replace those with more individually sized frozen meals or dishes that could feed a suite of four students, Dave said.
Leslie said they will apply for the ability to take Carolina Cards, so students in the area will have more options for using their meal plans. The closest campus dining hall is The Community Table within the 650 Lincoln.
Unlike the Irmo location, which has table service, the new spot will serve from the counter.
The new Roxanne’s Market was first announced on June 1. According to a Facebook page for the store, concrete floors and plumbing have already been installed.
Gateway 737 is set to open in August with 940 beds. The apartments are a collaboration between the Atlanta-based Holder Properties and the USC Development Foundation. That same partnership is behind the 650 Lincoln complex, which also includes student housing and retail space.
The Duffys had a relationship with both the development foundation and Holder Properties prior to planning their Gateway 737 location.
“We found out the real reason we got approved to go in there is that a couple of reps from USC foundation just came out here and had lunch and looked around, saw what we had to offer,” Dave said. “Then we got approached, saying they’d like us to open a place.”
Leslie added that the complex wanted a healthier option for students, compared to the other restaurants joining the property. They were also encouraged to create more of a convenience store environment for the market part of the business.
Earlier this year, Gateway 737’s website and signs at the property announced that Chick-fil-A and Knowledge Perk Coffee Company would fill some of the complex’s 12,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The Chick-fil-A will be the third location around USC’s campus, joining stores in Five Points and inside the Russel House student union.
Knowledge Perk is a coffee chain based out of Rock Hill, with locations around the state. The coffee shop came to Columbia in 2023, moving into a historic house on Gervais Street.