Granite Countertops in Summers Corner, SC

The restaurant and retail business continues to evolve across the Charleston region with one venue closing, four others in the works and another relocating.

South of Summerville, the only restaurant in the developing Summers Corner community will soon turn out the lights.

Corner House Café at 1609 Beech Hill Road is slated to close April 3, according to a shop owner Jacki Mariest.

Mariest said she was notified by a lawyer with homebuilder Lennar, which owns and is developing Summers Corner, in early March that the company would not be renewing her lease when it expires in June. Rather than wait until then, and to give her 10 employees an earlier chance to land a new job, Mariest said she decided to go ahead and close.

Mariest said Lennar did not offer a reason for not renewing the lease after the restaurant's nearly four years at the location.

"A lot of homeowners are real upset because this was one of their amenities," Mariest said.

A Lennar representative did not offer a reason for not renewing the lease but said a new occupant could be announced soon.

"We have a number of prospective new tenants we believe will be embraced and enjoyed by the community," said Jason Byham, Charleston division president. "We have no intention of leaving it vacant."

In a Facebook post, Mariest thanked her customers for their support over the past four years.

"You have always stood by our side, especially during COVID," she said. "We are not closing due to COVID or a lack of community support."

An online petition to try to change the landlord's mind had garnered roughly 2,000 signatures by March 30.

Lennar has about 500 houses in Summers Corner with another 100 under construction and hundreds more planned, Byham said.

What's cooking?

A Mount Pleasant restaurant and bar that's been closed since last summer plans to welcome customers once again.

Mainland Container Co. plans to reopen by the end of April at 1528 Ben Sawyer Blvd., a restaurant representative said.

Under new ownership, a company called BCG Holdings LLC recently applied for a state permit to sell alcohol on site. The property has been undergoing a mild facelift. New wooden fencing was recently installed around the patio area.

The restaurant representative said more information will be announced soon.

Also, a brewing company plans to open in the former Kickin' Chicken restaurant site in downtown Charleston.

King Street Brewing Co. LLC has applied for a license to see beer, wine and liquor at 337 King St., between Calhoun and George streets.

The firm is associated with Nate Tomforde, owner of Pour Taproom at 560 King St. Tomforde did not respond for further comment on an opening time frame.

Kickin' Chicken moved out of the proposed bar location last April after 21 years on King Street. It plans to reopen in a new site by July on the upper peninsula in a reworked former automotive garage at 45 Romney St. near the Charleston Tech Center.

And in Mount Pleasant, Second State Coffee is planning to open a new shop.

The café is upfitting a space at 1410 Shucker Circle next to apparel shop Love Bella in Oyster Park. It also plans to serve beer and wine.

Second State has two other locations: at 766 S. Shelmore Blvd. in Mount Pleasant and at 70½ Beaufain St. in downtown Charleston.

In northern Mount Pleasant, another restaurant is on the way.

Emoji Poke recently leased 1,255 square feet in The Bend at Carolina Park. It plans to open in the spring of 2022 in the developing strip center at Faison Road and Park Avenue Boulevard across from Costco Wholesale, according to the commercial real estate firm Belk|Lucy.

It will be located between The Front Porch Coffeehouse & Creamery and Blue Sky Endurance, which recently signed leases as well.

Relocating

A decade-old gift and furniture shop plans to relocate in Mount Pleasant.

Coralberry Cottage will build a new facility at 1135 Chuck Dawley Blvd. It currently operates at 976 Houston Northcutt Blvd. in Northcutt Plaza.

The current lease expires in June and, until the new building is constructed, the business plans to operate virtually when it moves out of the shopping center, according to Rutledge Carter, who co-owns the business with Melissa Hempstead and Liz Baker.

The new site, next to Clay Cottage and Art Studio, also has three small apartments that will remain and be called Indigo Studios.

Carter said they hope to be in the new location by the end of the summer, adding the project has been held up by a number of factors, including the coronavirus.

Getting fit

A Chicago-area fitness franchise is bringing its first South Carolina location to the Lowcountry.

Franchisee John Youngblood will open Spenga in a 4,000-square-foot space in the Publix-anchored Queensborough Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant by late summer, according to Jeff Yurfest with The Shopping Center Group.

Spenga, combining spin, strength training and yoga and also forming the brand name, will be located in three of the four available spaces in the recently completed building where Maple Street Biscuit Co. opened in December at 996 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

Youngblood plans to be open by mid-August after upfitting of the space is completed. Future Spenga sites are planned for northern Mount Pleasant, James Island, Summerville and West Ashley.

Also, a new boutique fitness studio is opening on Johns Island.

Everybody Zen Yoga & Fitness tentatively plans to move in April 1 to a 2,000-square-foot space at 1715 Hollydale Court at Maybank Landing, according to the commercial real estate firms NAI Charleston and ERA Wilder Realty.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - People living in the Summers Corner development are reaching out to representatives and federal post office officials for help with persistent mail delivery issues.

Packages delivered a few days late or a letter arriving a few houses down aren’t the only problems plaguing those who live in the Summers Corner development.

Christy Hurley has lived in Summers Corner since 2022. She says she understands a few weeks of understaffing and a misplaced item occasionally, but her service has been inconsistent for a year.

“We started noticing certain things missing such as debit cards, credit cards, we would have to call those companies and say can you just send a new one? That’s when I started to get nervous because that’s personal information,” Hurley says.

Talking with neighbors, a few people thought it seemed like a community-wide issue. Damone Walsh is one of the residents who helped create a tracking system to get a sense of what is going on.

Over a 90-day period, people living in Summers Corner contributed to a neighborhood-wide spreadsheet tracking mail mishaps. They range from missing tax documents and cards with money, to empty packages left in mailboxes. Their recordings found about 100 issues.

“Frankly, we were surprised. I mean over just during that 90 days, 78 days of actual mail service, at least one to two people were having mail problems every day, every single day and just in our community,” Walsh says.

The spreadsheet creators believe their numbers may be underreported as well. The neighbors sent letters to South Carolina representatives Graham, Scott, Mace and Clyburn, as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Inspector General.

“It just makes us think that there’s something systemic as opposed to individual problems. I mean, it may be both, but ultimately, I mean, let’s, let’s get it fixed,” Walsh says.

Walsh and Hurley say the postal service will often respond to an individual complaint, citing they are understaffed, or contractors are doing the deliveries.

“Everybody expected and was willing to accept if it’s a couple days off, well, that just makes sense. There’s a lag between whenever they scan it and whenever they deliver it, but then it went on for days, weeks and then just never just never delivered,” Walsh says.

Hurley says she’s gotten to the point that she doesn’t trust the service when it comes to important deliveries.

“We just sent out notices for my college daughter’s graduation and I had to inform all of our family. I said, Look, we’re having so many issues, I would prefer you not send money, gift cards, anything like that in the mail,” she says. “We got a graduation announcement for my sister and the back was torn open. And I said this is getting a little crazy.”

Walsh says the group decided to reach out to their representatives because USPS is a federal service, they need help getting answers from.

“We have a right to expect mail service. It’s embodied in our in our laws. And several people have reached out to the Postal Inspector and the postmaster and complained repeatedly and got nothing, just no result,” Walsh says.

Representative Nancy Mace’s office provided the following response to the community letter:

We’ve gotten a few inquires about this post office and have talked with our postal contact in Columbia. Their response has been that a lot of post offices, including this one, are experiencing staffing shortages and significant slowdowns. They are looking into it though so I’ll add in your inquiry to the others we’ve sent – will help us build the investigative case against them so the PS will have evidence to help find solutions to the issues.

Senator Lindsay Graham’s office also responded asking for more information from Walsh, who submitted the letter.

“We all recognize and believe that most of the Postal Service employees, they just want to do a good job, but it just makes us think that there’s something systemic as opposed to individual problems. I mean, it may be both, but ultimately, let’s get it fixed,” Walsh says. “I think consistent delivery, and I think a component would also be responsiveness from the leadership from within the Postal Service is what we’re looking for.”

The United States Postal Service provided the following statement:

The Postal Service strives is working hard to provide the best possible service to our valued customers. We apologize for any mail services issues that may have been experienced by customers living in the Summer’s Corner community. Some of the proactive steps we’ve taken in Summerville, SC include hiring additional personnel, as well as making staffing adjustments. Local management at the Oakbrook Post Office will continue to work with customers in Summer’s Corner to ensure every effort is being made to meet or exceed their expectations. We urge any customers with concerns or questions about their mail delivery service to contact the Postal Service immediately so that we can look into and resolve those concerns promptly. Customers have a variety of options for contacting the Postal Service, including contacting their local Post Office, calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777), or visiting our website.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE — Some of the youngest birders here have joined forces to monitor and populate bluebirds, a species that faced concerns of extinction nearly five decades ago.

They all live in the Summers Corner neighborhood off S.C. Highway 61, a fairly new community where bluebirds were the first inhabitants.

Nine years ago, when the community was under construction, a bluebird box was installed on the front street. The wooden boxes function much like the cavities the species creates in dead trees. Entrance holes allow them to move inside for shelter and nesting.

When the first box was put up in Summers Corner, only a building and four home structures were on the property. Three days after the box was installed, the birds moved in, said Tracy Erwin, the community’s marketing specialist.

More than 41 neighborhood children who make up the Bluebird Brigade will monitor that box and more than 20 others starting next week.

They’ll venture out into the area to take inventory of the species and clean out the wooden boxes the bluebirds call home.

Rhonda Plummer leads the Bluebird Brigade, which was started by the Summers Corner Garden Club in March 2021. The group started with 15 children and nearly tripled in three years. Birders range from 3 to 13 years old.

Plummer said the group was started to help populate the birds and provide an opportunity for children to experience the hands-on process.

The children convened at the front of the neighborhood on Feb. 25 to learn basic facts about bluebirds, how to clean and prepare the boxes and make feeders for the birds using coffee filters and cereal.

Jim Sproull, a board member for the S.C. Bluebird Society, spoke to the birders about the importance of recording data about the species and answered a multitude of questions, including those about egg colors, how to get the birds to leave the boxes and what to do when the eggs don’t hatch.

This task will be a new one for several members of the 2023 Bluebird Brigade cohort. Six-year-old Greyson Rose-Meadows is one of the newbies.

He said he has bluebirds already in his yard. But his favorite species is the blue heron.

“I love all animals except for the guys in the midnight zone,” Rose-Meadows said, alluding to vampire squid, tripod fish, anglerfish and other species found in a part of the ocean that receives no sunlight. “They’re terrifying.”

But he is excited to track bluebirds this spring.

Bluebird Brigade members will split up into groups to take weekly inventory and monitor the boxes from March to July. All data will be reported to the S.C. Bluebird Society and then to Cornell University.

Data on the species is important because it can help scientists understand its status.

Sproull of the Bluebird Society said he is unsure just how many bluebirds there are in the state, but there is a good population. Three species are found in North America. The Eastern bluebird lives here and in other states East of the Mississippi River.

“We are making progress,” Sproull said. “There are good people like this group that want to do something (about the species).”

He said the Bluebird Brigade is a good example of positive steps to help the birds.

About 10 percent of North America’s population was lost last year due to extreme cold and heat-related weather events.

But even with such a large loss, the species is more stable now than it was between 1920 and 1970, when Sproull said the North American population declined by 90 percent.

New development in the Summers Corner neighborhood south of Summerville continues to move along.

Lennar Carolinas plans to build 211 homes on 86 acres in a development called Azalea Ridge Phase 7 southeast of Beech Hill Road and Summers Drive.

The Miami-based home builder recently asked state environmental regulators for permits for stormwater, wastewater and water line construction.

The development is part of the 72,000-acre East Edisto Tract. About 53,000 acres that flank the Edisto River in the tract in Dorchester and Charleston counties are protected from development under a 2016 agreement.

Changing hands

A 48-unit apartment development on James Island and a multi-tenant commercial building in Mount Pleasant are now in the hands of new owners in separate deals.

Nashville-based real estate firm Durham Hill Capital LLC recently paid $8.5 million for The Charthouse, a four-story multifamily development at 1559 Folly Road, according to Andy Batkins of Charleston-based Woodlock Capital, which brokered the deal for the seller.

Hoplite Capital Strategies LLC, an arm of Charleston-based Hoplite Capital Management LP, is an equity partner in the purchase.

Greensboro, N.C.-based 1559 Acquisition Co. LLC was the previous owner. It acquired the 3-acre site in 2015 for $490,000 and built the apartments two years later.

Also changing hands is a 7,500-square-foot former McDonald’s with three tenants in Mount Pleasant.

The free-standing structure now housing Dunkin’ Donuts, Scoogie’s Chicago Style Deli and Headley Family Chiropractic at 840 Coleman Blvd. sold for $1.55 million, according to Buddy Bebergal and Will Moore of Carolina Commercial Real Estate, who handled the sale for the buyer.

The new owner is MG Mount Pleasant LLC of Columbus, Ohio.

Dunston Powell, also of Carolina Commercial, handled the sale for the seller, 840 Coleman LLC.

Bebergal said the new owner bought the property as an investment and does not plan any immediate changes.

The nearly 1-acre property last sold in 2011 for $825,000, according to Charleston County land records.

Topping out

A new $30 million, five-story office building under construction in downtown Charleston has officially topped out the steel frame.

Workers celebrated the topping out of the 84,000-square-foot structure at 677 King St. on Sept. 2.

Completion is expected late next spring on the Atlantic South Development-owned building. No tenants have been announced.

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A fondue restaurant chain plans to expand into the Lowcountry.

Bob Johnston, CEO of The Melting Pot, said the Tampa, Fla.-based company is looking to add two locations in Charleston and Mount Pleasant. He cited the Palmetto State’s strong tourism industry as a key reason for the expansion plan.

The chain already has a presence in Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach. It said it hopes to have 15 locations in South Carolina by 2025.

Liberty Senior Living wants to add more units to its South Bay continuing care facility, but it needs an amendment to a planned development because of Mount Pleasant’s moratorium on new multifamily buildings.

3: Number of new restaurants planning to open in the fall in an expanding Charleston-area shopping center.

65,000: Size of proposed new supermarket in a new retail development beside Freshfields Village between Kiawah and Seabrook islands.

2563: Address on Ashley River Road for a fast-food restaurant that recently turned out the lights.

+ More multifamily: A 110-unit townhome development is in the works for the Point Hope area of Charleston on the Cainhoy peninsula.

+ Doctor’s orders: A medical office building is being proposed in Point Hope.

+ Sliding sales: Charleston-area home sales slipped again in July for the 23rd consecutive month.

A social venue called Ocean Club is being proposed at the site of the former Sand Dunes Club property on Sullivan’s Island.

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SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — A Summerville family says their $535,000 dream house has turned into a nightmare.

“This is what we wanted. We fell in love with the outside, the exterior, everything,” said Michael O’Hea, who moved into the house in the Summers Corner neighborhood in June of 2017. He says immediately after moving in, he and his wife noticed defects cropping up throughout the house.

“You see the cracks in the wall you see the cabinets coming off the wall,” Brandy O’Hea told ABC News 4.

Floors are also uneven in several parts of the home, and two cracks have formed on the both sides of the home’s exterior.

The O’Heas also described mold issues with the home and drainage problems that required the installation of a French drain.

Dan Ryan Builders constructed the home, which the O’Hea’s say is a "Keenleand II" plan.

ABC News 4 called and emailed Dan Ryan builders requesting an interview and asking if the home was being examined for structural issues. Dan Ryan’s regional president emailed the following:

“We are aware of the O’Hea’s concerns with respect to their house. We are in the process of scheduling an engineer to inspect the house and will take appropriate action thereafter.”

The O’Hea’s say Dan Ryan Building sent two structural engineers in the spring who performed a visual inspection of the home, but those engineers were no-shows at the next scheduled appointment.

“We’ve had no shows. Contractors showing up with no materials, no paint,” Michael O’Hea said. “We had seven different personnel but it’s past that now.”

The O’Heas said several of their neighbors are experiencing similar issues with the Keeneland II model. Representatives from Dan Ryan have not yet commented on that.

As it stands, the O’Heas simply want their little slice of suburbia back in one piece.

“I want my home,” Brandy O’Hea said. “I want the home we paid for. We put everything in this home.”

The Better Business Bureau’s website shows 57 complaints filed against Dan Ryan Builders in the last three years, but it also rates the company an A+.

The BBB’s website lists some of the criteria for that score as pertaining to how quickly and appropriately the company has handled complaints.

Dan Ryan told us the building company scheduled its structural engineer to inspect their home less than two days after we contacted them for this story, but that engineer is scheduled for October.

The O’Heas say they’re considering a class action lawsuit.