MOUNT PLEASANT — A North Carolina-based supermarket chain plans to enter the Charleston market, stepping in after another grocery store’s plans fell through.

The Fresh Market has taken over the lease from discount grocer Lidl for a space in Bowman Place Shopping Center, according to a document filed Sept. 27 in the Charleston County land records office.

A spokeswoman for the Greensboro-based specialty grocer said the company “did not have anything to share at this time” on its open schedule.

Peter Stone of Mount Pleasant’s planning department said Fresh Market has not presented construction plans to the town, which usually considers building and facade alterations as well as signage through the Commercial Design Review Board.

German company Lidl, with its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Va., had planned to move into a 26,000-square-foot space in the Dick’s Sporting Goods-anchored retail center near Bowman Road and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard.

Work came to a halt more than a year ago.

A Lidl representative did not respond for comment.

The Fresh Market now has the remainder of the 15-year tenant agreement Lidl signed three years ago next month. The lease also included an option for 15 more years.

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The site originally held a 20,000-square-foot kitchen store, but it closed in early 2020. Lidl wanted a larger space, so it added 6,000 square feet and a loading dock in the rear of the building.

The Fresh Market has nine stores in South Carolina. Its closest location to Charleston is about 70 miles up the coast at Pawleys Island.

The chain offers an upscale assortment of fresh produce, meat and seafood along with a deli, bakery, prepared foods and fresh-cut flowers. The store also has beer, wine, coffee and bulk nuts along with various other items.

In 2017, Fresh Market first eyed the state’s fourth-largest municipality and its 95,000 residents who have a median household income of more than $106,000, according to U.S. Census figures.

Publix eventually brought one of its small-format specialty grocery stores called GreenWise Market to the 21,535-square-foot space in Indigo Square Shopping Center off U.S. Highway 17, where Fresh Market was looking.

GreenWise Market, near Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, closed in 2020 about 16 months after it opened. It’s now the site of outdoor gear retailer REI Co-op.

Another specialty grocer also made a run in Mount Pleasant. North Carolina-based Southern Season shuttered its store off Coleman Boulevard in 2016, less than three years after it opened. It’s now the home of Gold’s Gym.

Last year, South American retailer Cencosud acquired a 67 percent stake in The Fresh Market. Existing grocery store shareholders retained a minority equity interest in the company.

The Fresh Market, with 159 stores in 22 states, was founded in 1982. The size of its stores average about 21,000 square feet.

The Bowman Place location is near a 4-mile stretch of Johnnie Dodds Boulevard between the Ravenel Bridge and Interstate 526 that’s teeming with supermarkets. They include Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Publix, Traders Joe’s, Aldi and Walmart.

Lidl has a dozen stores in South Carolina, with two in the Charleston area in Goose Creek and North Charleston.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. —

A popular restaurant in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has announced its closing.

The Mustard Seed has been in business for more than 28 years.

(Video above: Morning headlines from WYFF News 4)

The owner, Sal Parco, posted Sunday on Facebook that he will retire and the restaurant will close and be taken over by a new group.

Read his full message below:

"It’s with a heavy heart and mixed emotions, I am writing to formally announce my retirement and the closing of the Mustard Seed. Please visit me as this will be my final week and it is my hope to see as many of you as possible. I opened the original Mustard Seed over 28 yrs ago, and it’s been quite a journey. Along the way I’ve had the privilege to serve the greater Mt Pleasant community, even opening up additional restaurant concepts that were frequented by my cherished customers. It has been my great honor to be a part of the restaurant community and I’ll never be able to express my appreciation toward the many customers that I now consider to be my family. I am forever grateful to have been welcomed in with such open arms and my gratitude toward you is immense. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed coming to work everyday, meeting, greeting and serving the most wonderful group of loyal customers. You have been my family for almost 30 years and I will miss each and every one of you. But it is time to pass on the baton…

"To my Mustard Seed team, thank you for your commitment and your loyalty. You have made this feel more like a passion project as opposed to work. A special thanks to my dedicated leaders that always stepped up even through the many challenges we’ve faced throughout the years. I never questioned your integrity as you added to the successes we achieved. But after much thought and careful consideration, I realize that it’s time to slow down as I’m not a youngster anymore and all good things must come to an end. I want to thank everyone for the experiences and opportunities I have been able to enjoy. The fond memories of our times together will follow me into my retirement and any future endeavors.

"Until then, I am fully committed to assisting in the transition of the new group taking over… I know this wonderful community will embrace them just as you did me 28+ years ago. You allowed me to live out my dreams and achieve opportunities that I couldn’t even imagine were possible. I love each and everyone of you! All the best,Sal Parco"

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - A historic Mount Pleasant park was possibly going to be a dog park before nearby community members banded together against the development.

Now, the development has been put on hold and nearby residents are celebrating the victory.

At Edwards Park in historic Mount Pleasant, the park has been here since 1837, that’s why the proposed development brought together the community to maintain its historical significance.

“I heard about the dog park that the town was proposing an idea to divide and fence half of the park, and the community spoke out and said we don’t want this, and the town council responded,” Sarah Mitchell who lives near Edwards Park says. “And as I know, it is off the table for now. So, which is wonderful, but in the future, we’d like to do a historical designation of the park.”

Turning Edwards Park into a dog park was an idea shared with the community a few weeks ago, but the town decided to stop pursuing the project after over 700 Mount Pleasant residents signed a petition against it.

Eric LaFontanie with Mount Pleasant said after hearing feedback and considerations from the community, the town will not be pursuing this Edwards Park concept at the moment.

The park currently sits in the middle of a neighborhood with homes surrounding it on all sides with homeowners concerned about the potential impact on traffic and noise it would have on residents.

“It’s important just for traffic, noise, and other reasons, that we don’t ever make it an official dog park. Like I said, folks can use it now as it is: you could still come with your dog, but we also want it open for everyone,” Mitchell says.

Edwards Park is used by many members of the public to picnic, host group gatherings, go for walks, and more, which is why the community wanted it to be open to all.

“When you turn something into a dog park, it really limits it to just one use,” Park Preservation Advocate Daniel Brownstein says. “I mean, nobody’s going to go have a picnic at a dog park, so it just made sense, I think, to keep the status quo and make sure that it’s open to people and dogs and not exclusive to one or the other.”

Turing Edwards Park into a dog park was part of Mount Pleasant’s plan to improve Alhambra Hall, grounds and playground, the other improvements are all still set to begin next summer.

“I think if anything, the park could use a little TLC with its landscaping,” Brownstein adds. “It would also be an ideal spot to build a gazebo, and to really just sort of enhance it into the community gathering spot that it could be.”

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MOUNT PLEASANT — Downtown Charleston’s Revealed Gallery has teamed up with Mount Pleasant’s White Gallery for an upcoming rock ‘n’ roll exhibit.

Scott Parsons, owner of Revealed Gallery, is one of the two artists being featured in the show, which will include portraits of famed classic rockers across a variety of media. The second participant is one of Parsons’ featured artists and friend Mauricio Sánchez Rengifo, who goes by Masáre.

Both will showcase their large-scale works at White Gallery, 709 Coleman Blvd., for the “TripLineDrop” art show from 7-10 p.m. Aug. 25. There will be food and drink vendors, as well as music by Paul Harris, Graham Whorley and DJ Moldybrain, on-site during the show.

Parsons grew up with a brother eight years older than him who loved comic books. He experienced art from an early age and started to attempt drawing his favorite characters at age 7. In middle school, he gravitated toward graffiti and was hired for his first mural in Washington, D.C., in 1997. He moved to Charleston in 2000 and started doing murals again after a hiatus. In 2010, he transferred from spray can to brush and canvas. He also experiments with acrylic pouring.

“My subject matter isn’t easily defined,” said Parsons. “I paint images that strike me when doing figurative work. ... The pouring paintings I do are experimenting with color and are very organic. I direct the paint to a certain extent, but then it’s kind of out of my control, which is very fun for me and I hope for the viewer as well.”

Parsons said he will be bringing a “whole lot of color” to this show, as well as new pour experimentations. This is the first time he has shown at White Gallery.

Masáre studied and graduated as an architect in Colombia in 2005. He spent six months locked in his studio painting some of the works that will be on display at this exhibit, including portraits of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin.

His portraits are created from layered textures on rigid surfaces; he uses glass, fabric, wood, beads, plastic, metal, glitter, paper, petals and more. The materials used often coalesce with the story of his subject matter.

Poetry and community go hand-in-hand. Sometimes lacking a defined form but always full of heart, they create a space for discussing, relating, exploring, expressing, healing.

This year’s Free Verse Poetry Festival, returning for its seventh year from Oct. 18-22, is doing just that.

Events at this year’s rendition of Charleston’s poetry festival include readings from locals on Ohm Radio 96.3 FM, two writing workshops, a film night, and a combination yoga and live music event focused on relaxation, said festival founder Marcus Amaker. All events are free.

Charleston Scene

A key theme in curating this year’s festival has been conveying how poetry shouldn’t be a passive experience, said Amaker, former poet laureate of the city. Free Verse, outside of its October festival, looks to use poetry as public art and make participation accessible with regular open mic nights across venues in the Charleston area.

Programming outside of October has been key to the festival’s success so far, with open mic nights gaining a steady following, he said. The artist collective strives to put poetry front and center in daily life, showcasing and exploring its ability to process the big issues of today’s world.

Poetry isn’t limited to the page, but words have been strewn across Lowcountry sidewalks and billboards. Teaching and sharing at libraries and schools has also been a focus.

“This year’s poetry community has grown immensely from last year,” said Amaker.

What has made it successful, even through the tumultuous years of the pandemic, is its focus on staying grounded to supporting and providing a platform for the people and poets of Charleston, steering away from the book-talk model of many conferences and festivals. Amaker looks for regular new voices — those often overlooked by conferences, academia and public forums. Then, he amplifies them.

The city of Charleston helps Free Verse secure funding and support through grants and other national programs. Scott Watson, director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, said Amaker’s practice of making spaces of “radical inclusion” keep Free Verse focused on the people who call Charleston home.

People who live in the Carolina Park and Park West area of Mount Pleasant could soon see a new multi-use trail.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - People who live in the Carolina Park and Park West area of Mount Pleasant could soon see a new multi-use trail.

The proposed trail would run from Park West Boulevard, through the roundabout at Carolina Park, then run through Carolina Park and out to US-17.

The project team held a community input meeting to show people who live in the area renderings of the path and get their feedback on Wednesday night.

The project manager James Aton said the biggest question he has gotten regarding proposed multi-use trail in the Park West, Carolina Park area, is “when are we going to actually see it?”

He says he’s glad so many residents have shown interest in the trail.

“Presenting the concept of this as part of the Mount Pleasant Way, then seeking input on the path, amenities, sidewalk, streetlights, water fountains, things of that nature.” Aton said.

This trail is part of the long-planned Mount Pleasant Way Project in town. Officials with the project say the goal of the Mount Pleasant Way plan is to eventually have 47 miles of multi-use trails that reach all over town.

Aton says as of right now, about 39% of the Mount Pleasant Way Project either complete or tied to imminent projects.

The proposed trail in north Mount Pleasant is one that’s wider than a normal sidewalk, about 10-12 feet.

Aton said it will be about a mile and half, with mostly commercial properties along the trail.

The neighborhood livability division chief and Mount Pleasant resident, Liz Boyles, says she wants anyone in the Mount Pleasant area to know this path isn’t just for people who live in Carolina Park or Park West.

“We’ve already seen a lot of those come into this area, but I’m told some more restaurants like a Mexican place and an ice cream shop have been discussed too,” Boyles said.

Aton says some stores in the area have already agreed to give some right-of-way land to allow the trail.

“This segment made too much sense because commercial properties benefit from additional foot traffic, outreach, they’ve been very supportive of the project,” Aton said.

Right now, the project team wants to get input from the public by the end of July so they can apply for green belt funds.

“We’ve never had something like this in Mount Pleasant,” Boyles said. “We’ve had neighborhood parks and community parks, which are wonderful spaces. But this will enable us to connect those and people within the communities around them to get there more safely without necessarily having to get in the card.”

Once funding is acquired, Aton says they aren’t sure when folks will see the path. However, he predicts it will be somewhere between 5 to 15 years.

For more information on the project and to take the survey, click here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.