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Have you ever had nitrogen ice cream?

Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream is set to open its first South Carolina location later this year in Bluffton.

The made-to-order nitrogen ice cream shop will be opening its new establishment at 65 Towne Drive, Unit 65 in Belfair Towne Village II in Bluffton.

The current estimated opening date will be this fall.

The new locale will be owned and operated by Derek Cohen, the new franchisee and retiring Marine Corps veteran, who recently purchased the rights to develop new Chill-N locations in the Hilton Head area and Savannah, Georgia markets, according to recent release by Chill-N.

Cohen’s immediate plans are to open one location in each market for a total of two.

“As I was looking for an ice cream brand that could service the more than two million visitors that the Hilton Head area receives each year, I was immediately blown away by Chill-N and its level of technology. I believe that Chill-N is leading the way in which all ice cream shops will eventually operate, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of a brand that is pioneering the future of one our country’s most beloved sweet treats,” said Cohen.

“I’m looking forward to introducing Chill-N to the Bluffton community and growing my portfolio even further in the years to come.”

The new Bluffton Chill-N location will feature the brand’s newest prototype, which includes a new nitrogen system that has allowed the brand to reduce its investment to open a store by 20%, increased production efficiency, and enhanced the customer experience, according to the release.

Cohen will reportedly hire approximately 15 new employees for his first Chill-N shop in Bluffton and has plans to open a second shop in Savannah in the future.

How does Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream work?

Customers will have the ability to choose a portion size, ice cream base and then a flavor. Ice cream bases include milk, yogurt, or alternative milk option such as coconut, almond or oat.

Next, guests may choose to add on premium toppings including candies, cookies, cereal, fresh fruit, sauces, nuts, and Cuban coffee.

Each scoop of ice cream is hand-crafted to order, and flash frozen instantly using liquid nitrogen at -320° Fahrenheit.

The new Bluffton Chill-N locale will be open within the next several months and will operate Monday through Sunday.

Developers are building condos off S.C. 170 in Bluffton, but people won’t live there. Their cars will.

CarVillage USA, an “automotive enthusiasts’ club,” will have 31 car condos on a five-acre site between the Village at Verdier and S.C. 170 near Seagrass Station.

Despite the use of the term condo, these aren’t going to be residences. A car condo is essentially a climate-controlled, indoor garage for multiple cars. Owners will be able to customize their condos as they see fit or, if they need more space, buy multiple condos and have them combined into one.

“Guys like to have their own space,” said Gary Brown, one of the people behind the unique development. “They have their fancy cars. They’re working on them. They have a new home, but it’s got a two-car garage. That’s not going to work.”

Each condo will start at 1,680 square feet, which is expected to be enough for six-cars.

The starting cost for a condo is $550,000. Brown said anyone who signs up before Monday at noon will get a $10,000 discount; community leaders will be at Hilton Head Island’s Concours d’Elegance and Motoring Festival over the weekend .

In terms of customization, the only limit will be the owner’s imagination.

“These units have mezzanines, and the mezzanines are designed in a way that you can do whatever you want to do,” Brown said. “Whatever makes you happy.”

That could mean office space or furniture.

There are a few places like this across the United States, Brown said. However, the social aspect of the Bluffton location makes it stand out.

CarVillage is being designed to be more than just a place to keep cars. Instead, it is meant to be a place for car collectors to gather and hang out.

A 20,000-square-foot clubhouse will include an F-1 racer simulator, a full bar, a pool hall, private offices, a cigar lounge, detailing services, a kitchen for catering, private wine bottle storage, and a lift for servicing and washing vehicles.

There are also plans for events like car shows that would be open to the public and “coffee and cars” meetups for car enthusiasts on the weekends.

“With all of these units and all of these owners, it’s natural for us to be sort of a clearinghouse for the members,” Brown said.

According to the CarVillage website, five condos already have been sold and six have been reserved.

Club membership at CarVillage will be limited to 250 members. Members will not have to be condo owners. The upper level of one of the buildings will include general storage members can rent to store their vehicles.

Brown’s team is expecting to break ground on the project in February and expects construction to take about a year.

The National Weather Service forecasts that Idalia will be at hurricane strength as it reaches southeast Georgia late Wednesday afternoon, then becoming a tropical storm as it tracks along the South Carolina coast. NWS also stated a flood watch in southeast South Carolina will be in effect through Wednesday.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Tuesday ahead of potential impacts caused by Idalia. McMaster warned residents should take precautions despite the state likely missing the "worst of Hurricane Idalia’s impacts."

Track the storm here:How will Hurricane Idalia impact SC?

Hurricane Idalia:Gov. McMaster declares State of Emergency for South Carolina

Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka shares letter to residents

Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka shared a letter to residents of her city.

Dear neighbors,

Thank you for preparing for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Idalia.

Historically, the busiest time for storm activity happens in this area from late August through mid-October. Unfortunately, this storm activity is following its normal pattern and timeline.

As Mayor, I hope to give you the information you need to feel informed and keep you safe. Storm preparation is a group activity, and we need you to be mindful and take some actions for the best possible outcome.

Let me assure you that Town leaders and staff are on regular calls throughout each day to keep our communities as safe as possible. As we say each year, “We may be able to put a person on the moon, however, we cannot predict a hurricane with precision.” Nature has the final word about hurricanes, their path, and timing. Information is constantly changing – the antidote to a lack of control is to control what you can and be proactive.

This storm is most likely to bring standing water, power failures and downed trees.

Hurricane Idalia: List of things to do before storm hits

Hurricane Idalia: Town of Bluffton offices closed

Hurricane Idalia: Utility Contacts

Please keep posted to the Town’s social media platforms and we will be communicating new information as we receive it. Stay safe, Bluffton!

Warmly,

Mayor Lisa Sulka

USA Today contributed to this story.

Residents of South Carolina Lowcountry counties breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday after Tropical Storm Idalia roared through on Wednesday, leaving flooded roads and some people without power.

High winds and inches of rain from Idalia bombarded Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties Wednesday evening.

The highest wind gust that was seen in Beaufort County during the storm Wednesday was 66 mph, the National Weather Service reported, adding that wind speeds at Battery Point in the Beaufort area peaked at 57 mph, and the Beaufort Marine Corps Airspace reported wind gusts of 49 mph.

Rainfall in the Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton County areas was measured at 2 to 8 inches, the NWS said.

As the inches of rain came down, nearby water sources swelled causing flooding in the Lowcountry.

Several roads and neighborhoods in Hampton County remained flooded Thursday, and Hampton County Emergency Management Director Susanne Peeples urged caution when traveling. The Savannah River area had a flood warning that extended into the afternoon.

Power outages in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties

Tray Hunter, marketing director at Palmetto Electric, reported that around 9,531 Beaufort County customers lost power during Idalia. In Jasper County, 3,121 residents were without power and 1,628 were without power in Hampton County. Hunter said that Palmetto Electric employees were able to restore power to all customers just after midnight going into Thursday, Aug. 31.

As of 9:15 a.m., Peeples said that 319 Dominion customers around the county were still without power. Some of these are "major outages," said Peeples, and several roads need to be cleared in order to repair the outages, so it was likely to be midday or later before power could be restored to some areas.

At 7 a.m. Thursday, Dominion had more than 6,000 customers statewide without power, with 978 of those customers in Jasper County, Peeples said.

Jasper County shelter closes

Jasper County Emergency Services, in an email, said that it had closed the shelter early Thursday morning that had been opened as Hurricane Idalia bore down on the state.

"Jasper County Emergency Services is thankful for minimal impacts to our community," the release said.

The shelter had opened for those who needed a place to go during the hurricane. Volunteers worked Wednesday morning to close the shelter down with the help of several local agencies.

Schools and county office closings and reopenings

All Hampton County offices will reopen at 8 a.m. Friday. Hampton County School District (the public schools) were already scheduled to be closed for Friday and Monday due to the Labor Day holiday weekend, so they will reopen on Tuesday as scheduled.

Jasper County and Beaufort County schools will resume classes on Friday, Sept. 1.

When did Idalia make landfall?

Idalia made landfall at about 7:45 a.m. EDT Wednesday near Keaton Beach in Florida's Big Bend. The storm came ashore southeast of Tallahassee as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

Idalia remained a hurricane as moved north, northeast into Georgia before hitting the South Carolina Lowcountry as a tropical storm.

How big was Idalia?

The storm spanned nearly 350 miles across, an area about the size of Colorado, which measures 380 miles across.

Satellite imagery captured Aug. 30-31, by NASA GOES East satellites, shows Idalia breaking up as it moved into the Atlantic. Hurricane Franklin can also be seen in the same imagery as the storms draw closer together.

USA Today contributed to this report.

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WSAV) — Sterlin Colvin Jr., known by his stage name “Stee” turned heads with his audition on NBC’s The Voice. He cleared his first hurdle during the blind auditions and now he’s got a new challenge ahead of him, the battle rounds.

“Music, it was just everywhere. It was kind of like you were going to do it,” Stee said. “If you didn’t want to do it or not because everybody did it. You were like, ‘Well, shoot if they’re doing it, I want to do it.’”

That love for music was ingrained in Stee as a kid.

“My cousin, you know, she’s like a sibling to us, I mean she’s a classically trained pianist and my dad’s oldest sister is a classical singer, you know, and my dad’s older brother, he could sing too,” Stee said. “My mom is an incredible singer who could sing everything, every genre. I think that’s where I get the multiple genre thing from.”

His parents are musical legends on Hilton Head Island. The Colvin family started coming to the island when Stee was seven years old so his dad could play gigs. Stee was born in the D.C. area but calls both Bluffton and D.C. Home.

In 2014, Stee, his sister Brooke, and childhood friend Malcolm started their band ‘Ear Candy.’

“In the beginning, it was rough. Oh, my goodness, it was rough. Not musically, it was rough business,” Stee said. “It was where, you know, we had no clout, we didn’t have anything up under our belt. We had no buzz. 2016, we were really going. We were really going and our peak year was 2019. That’s when we were like, you know, just at it, you know, and making money finally.”

But that flame was put out by the pandemic when the world was put on hold, especially for entertainers. Flash forward to 2023, they’re now back in the spotlight.

Stee is making a name for himself on the biggest stage. He said when he walked out on The Voice’s stage, he knew all he had to do was do what he does best — sing.

“Get your nerves in check, because there’s no way in the world that you’re going to get on The Voice stage, anybody, and not have nerves,” Stee said. “You just got to get them in check and do what you are naturally able to do.”

Now, he’s moving on to the battle rounds stage, where he’ll collaborate with another singer but they will also battle with each other for a spot to move on. Collaborating is something Stee has done his whole life and he’s excited to put it on display for the world.

“I never really did anything by myself because it was always me and my sister doing everything musically. Just to see me do something with a totally different artist that you’ve never even seen me with. You know, I’ve been doing music in this area for almost a decade, so you always see me with the same people. I just can’t wait for people to see that aspect,” Stee said with a smile.

In the meantime, you can catch Stee and Ear Candy performing at venues around the Bluffton and Hilton Head areas. Especially at his family’s restaurant and music venue, Kind Of Blue.