Growing chain Parker’s Kitchen is planning a store on this busy Columbia road
A popular convenience store chain known for its food options is planning a new location along a bustling Columbia road.
Parker’s Kitchen, which has more than 100 stores across parts of Georgia and South Carolina, is eyeing a location at 7609 Garners Ferry Road, according to the city of Columbia’s Jan. 8 board of zoning appeals agenda packet. The company is asking the zoning board for a variance to certain landscaping standards for the project. The meeting is at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Parker’s is a well-known convenience store brand in coastal South Carolina and Georgia, as well as in the Augusta area. But the company is still in the nascent stages of an entry into the Midlands.
A company official told the Columbia’s zoning board at a March 2025 meeting that Parker’s was planning approximately 15 stores in the greater Columbia market in the next five years. A Parker’s location is on the way at 191 Earth Road near northeast Columbia, in the Market at Spears Creek shopping center, and Lexington County Planning Commission documents from 2025 showed a location is planned at 1367 N. Lake Drive in Lexington.
Parker’s also is eyeing a spot at 5387 Augusta Road, according to the town of Lexington’s October planning and zoning actions report. That site is about a half-mile east of the Lexington County Library and about a mile-and-a-half east of the heart of downtown Lexington.
The location at 7609 Garners Ferry Road would be at the corner of Garners Ferry and Fountain Lake roads. Nearby businesses include an Aldi supermarket, a Slim Chickens restaurant and a Starbucks, among other retailers. Garners Ferry is a very high-traffic thoroughfare, with nearly 41,000 cars per day traversing the road, per state Department of Transportation statistics.
Parker’s is known for all the convenience store staples — gasoline, snacks, etc. — but also for having a number of hot food items in its kitchens. That includes breakfast items such as fish & grits, biscuits & gravy, biscuit sandwiches and more, as well as lunch items including chicken tenders and sandwiches, pork chops and catfish.
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 11:03 AM.
