Quartz Countertopsin North Charleston, SC

Four new food-and-beverage venues are in the works in the Park Circle area of North Charleston.

Southern Roots Smokehouse has temporarily closed its restaurant at 1083 E. Montague Ave., where it has operated since 2017, ahead of a move to a new location down the street.

The barbecue dining spot is moving to 1037 E. Montague in the former site of Ship’s Wheel Hard Cider, which moved its production operation to 7325 Cross County Road last year.

Southern Roots is aiming to reopen in the new site by the spring. It offers another Lowcountry location at 2544 Savannah Highway in West Ashley.

Falling through

A new dining concept was on the way to the former Southern Roots site until earlier this week when the deal fell through.

The owners of MOMO, which serves American fare off Everglades Avenue in Riverfront Park in North Charleston, planned to open a restaurant called The Venice, offering a vibe from the Venice Beach neighborhood in southern California, by late summer or early fall.

But MOMO co-owner Justin Moore confirmed Feb. 12 the deal was off to open in the rental location.

“The building has a lot more things to be fixed than anticipated is the reason for the sudden reversal,” Moore said. “Very disappointing to say the least.”

The building is owned by an affiliate of Charleston commercial real estate firm Clement Crawford & Thornhill, which paid $2 million for the property in 2021, according to county land records.

CC&T agent Bradley Baker said Moore asked Monday to be released from a lease signed more than two months ago.

“It came as a shock to us,” Baker said.

Moore said he does not have a new location for the planned Venice restaurant.

On the way

Also in Park Circle, three new establishments are coming to three buildings on one block just down the street from the former Southern Roots site.

Sissy Bar plans to open at 1067 E. Montague in the former site of Three Sirens restaurant, which closed last September. Sissy Bar’s owner Good Boy Doc LLC recently applied for a state license to sell beer, wine and liquor for on-site use.

The forthcoming Sissy Bar is next door to the former Idle Hour restaurant at 1065 E. Montague, which is being renovated for an undetermined concept after the building changed hands in 2022 for $550,000. The 1,000-square-foot Idle Hour closed in 2021, a family business that operated on site and next door since 1942.

Also, a new dining venue is coming to 1063 E. Montague. A Colombian-style restaurant called Ciudad Bonita is on the way. It’s scheduled to open in April, according to restaurant operator Santiago Sierra.

Next in Nexton

Two new food-and-beverage businesses are coming to outparcels at the soon-to-open Harris Teeter supermarket site in Nexton near Summerville.

Mexican restaurant La Minerva recently leased 3,627 square feet for a new venue in a building that is yet to be constructed off Nexton Parkway at Brighton Park Boulevard.

The restaurant signed the lease with Southeastern Development of Augusta, according to Mandy Coleman with National Restaurant Properties, who represented the tenant. The land is currently owned by North Carolina-based Harris Teeter, which bought the nearly 14-acre site in 2016 for $4.76 million.

Note: Since this story was originally published on Feb. 9, a Harris Teeter spokeswoman said Feb. 16 the actual date of the store’s opening may be “shifted.” A new opening date was not provided. The word “tentatively” has been added to this story.

The first of a cartload of new supermarkets coming to the Charleston area soon will open.

North Carolina-based Harris Teeter plans tentatively to host its grand opening at 8 a.m. April 17 on Nexton Parkway at Brighton Park Boulevard near Summerville, according to spokeswoman Danna Robinson.

The first full day of business will follow a “Taste of Teeter” preview of the 64,000-square-foot grocery store from 4-7 p.m. April 16. Participants can sample products, and registers will be open for those looking to shop during the preliminary event.

The new store also includes a fuel station. Plans also call for outparcel buildings on the 14-acre site. Harris Teeter, a subsidiary of The Kroger Co. of Cincinnati, bought the property in 2016 for $4.76 million, according to Berkeley County land records.

Across the street, Florida-based Publix is under construction and is expected to open the 48,000-square-foot store by mid-year, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline. The supermarket will anchor One Nexton, a new retail development with a mix of tenants.

The competing Berkeley County grocery stores are coming to the 5,000-acre unincorporated Nexton community where 7,500 residences will exist at full buildout in about 15 years, bringing 18,750 people to the Charleston suburbs. That’s more than the current population of Moncks Corner.

South Carolina home sales dipped for a second straight year at the end of 2023, but new construction and lower interest rates could revive the market this year.

Volume across the state fell 7.7 percent to 6,761 transactions in December and by almost 14 percent to 88,078 for the entire year as buyers battled two-decade-high mortgage rates, rising prices and historic low inventories, according to market reports from S.C. Realtors.

The good news for sellers — and not-so-welcome news for buyers — is home prices are still increasing, with the median sales figure climbing nearly 3 percent from 2022 to $325,000.

In the Charleston market, where volume has fallen 28 months in a row, the median price ticked up 1.5 percent in 2023 to $404,972. Closings fell again in December, dropping about 8 percent to 1,177.

“We didn’t have as many home transactions but for the transactions we had, people were still making far more (profit) than they would have at any other time,” said Amanda Kennedy-Colie of Matt O’Neill Real Estate.

Kennedy-Colie said fast-rising mortgage rates, which reached a 20-year high in October at 7.9 percent, have been keeping transactions low but the Federal Reserve’s plans to start reducing borrowing costs in mid-2024 should encourage more homeowners to sell.

More inventory is needed as the pandemic bit a big chunk out of the 6,000 to 8,000 homes typically listed for sale in the Charleston region on any given day five years ago. As of last week, the current level was hovering around 2,800 properties, which Collier said includes homes that still have yet to be permitted, let alone built.

New construction will most likely be where buyers look in 2024, Kennedy-Colie said, recommending buyers sign contracts quickly before prices rise even further.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Feb. 20 it won’t hear a dispute over who will operate the ship-to-shore cranes at the Port of Charleston’s Leatherman Terminal, upending a decadeslong tradition at Southeast ports of state employees running the heavy-lift equipment while union workers move cargo through the yards below.

The decision means dockworkers with the International Longshoremen’s Association will operate Leatherman’s cranes. It also sets a precedent for union workers to hold those jobs at any new port terminal that opens in the Carolinas and Georgia, where the so-called “hybrid” work arrangement has existed since the 1950s.

The high court’s nine justices discussed the labor dispute during a closed-door session Feb. 16 and announced their decision in that and dozens of other cases in orders released the morning of Feb. 20.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he would have granted a hearing in the case, but he was the lone vote in favor of letting the lawsuit play out. At least four justices must agree that a case has merit for it to move forward.

“We are disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court did not decide to take up the issue regarding S.C. Ports’ jobs at Leatherman Terminal,” Barbara Melvin, president and CEO of the S.C. State Ports Authority, said in a written statement. “We will work together with the ILA to bring forward a solution that unlocks much-needed terminal capacity and prioritizes caring for our workforces and providing excellent service for our customers.”

Harold Daggett, the ILA’s president, called the decision “another landmark moment” for the waterfront labor organization.

In a post to the union’s Facebook page, Daggett said: “The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the Leatherman case secures a victory for the ILA, affirming our Master Contract. Now, any new terminal falls under ILA’s jurisdiction, and if not then the USMX ocean carriers can’t call that terminal.”

The USMX is the U.S. Maritime Alliance, a consortium of container shipping lines that hires union workers to load and unload ships.

The dockworkers union operates cranes at most terminals along the East and Gulf coasts and has training sites to certify its members for the work. At Charleston’s port, ILA workers will operate the cranes at Leatherman only. The SPA’s Wando Welch and North Charleston terminals were not affected by the court’s decision.

The maritime agency previously has said an all-ILA workforce at Leatherman would lead to higher labor costs that would be passed along to shipping lines and their customers and might force shippers to bypass the terminal for cheaper options.

The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a time when the ILA is negotiating a new master contract for its more than 65,000 members at 200 affiliates along the East and Gulf coasts. Daggett has said he will authorize strikes if the container shipping lines that hire ILA workers don’t agree to a large wage increase in their upcoming contract renewal. The current contract expires at the end of September, and Daggett has said he wants wages that are similar to what West Coast counterparts received last year, or roughly $51 an hour for experienced dockworkers.

The decision also could affect operations at the Georgia Ports Authority, which said in a court filing that an all-ILA workforce at one of its new terminals would hit the state with nearly $600 million a year in extra costs, including higher wages, legal risks and lost business. The Georgia authority plans to build a $2 billion terminal at Hutchinson Island on the Savannah River that would open by 2030. The agency did not respond to a request for comment but told The Wall Street Journal: “Georgia Ports has been talking with the ILA and this will not jeopardize our plans.”

Business

The $1 billion first phase of Leatherman, which opened in March 2021, was built to handle 700,000 cargo containers a year. Instead, the terminal has been idled by the labor dispute, with no containers moving across its docks during the first half of the SPA’s current fiscal year, which started July 1.

Melvin, speaking during a meeting of the SPA’s board of directors on Feb. 20, said she is committed to working with the ILA to get the Leatherman Terminal reopened.

“Now our job is to find this path toward what we look like now along with the workforce of the International Longshoremen’s Association,” she said. “We have to do this quickly, but prudently, because we need to unlock some additional terminal capacity for the East Coast.”

She said the goal is to protect the SPA’s crane operators and other employees while helping ILA workers get trained on Leatherman’s equipment and boosting the number of hours union employees work.

“Whatever we pivot to here in South Carolina will work,” she said. “We will continue to have the very strong economic impact on South Carolina that we do today, and we will continue to provide the most productive, preferred port services that we provide to our customers and ocean carriers today.”

Gov. Henry McMaster, who has fought the ILA’s effort to take the Leatherman crane jobs, said he is disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision but is hopeful the justices will review the case later if Georgia or North Carolina later face the same issue at their ports.

“We wish they had agreed to take it and they had gone our way,” McMaster said at the Statehouse shortly after the decision was announced. “We’re going to fight on this, of course.”

McMaster said he has safety concerns about ILA workers operating Leatherman’s cranes.

“You can’t just walk in and work on those cranes. That was the whole point,” he said. “A wrong move can destroy a lot of progress, destroy a lot of equipment and hurt a lot of people.”

McMaster has waged a war of words with the union in recent weeks, and the ILA didn’t back down after its Supreme Court victory.

“The master contract has benefited all ILA workers on the East and Gulf coasts for over 70 years,” the ILA said in a statement. “The Supreme Court evidently understood that it made no sense to disrupt collective bargaining on the entire East and Gulf coasts just to satisfy the anti-union feelings of some politicians in South Carolina.”

The SPA had asked the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling in July that, by a 2-to-1 vote, gave the ILA the right to operate Leatherman’s cranes. The 4th Circuit ruling upheld an earlier decision by the National Labor Relations Board but differed from an initial ruling by an administrative law judge.

Business

There were two key issues in the case — whether the ILA is attempting an unlawful jobs grab by claiming the crane work and whether its lawsuit against shipping lines that called on Leatherman when SPA workers were running the cranes amounts to an illegal boycott of the terminal.

The ILA is seeking $500 million in damages in its complaint, which is pending in federal court in New Jersey.

The 4th Circuit, which is in Richmond, Va., said ILA workers have a right to the jobs because their 2012 contract amendment with shipping lines calls for an all-union workforce at any new marine terminals built in Georgia and the Carolinas. Those states have traditionally used a “hybrid” work model, where non-union state employees operate cranes and union members move cargo through the terminal yards.

The Leatherman was the first test of the union’s collective bargaining agreement with container shipping lines.

The appeals court added that since the ILA operates cranes at terminals in all other states from Maine to Texas, the Leatherman jobs would simply be an extension of a role the union has historically filled along the East and Gulf coasts.

And since the ILA has a contractual right to Leatherman’s crane jobs, the 4th Circuit said, the union also has a right to sue shipping lines that don’t follow the contract’s terms.

The SPA, in its appeal to the Supreme Court, said the ILA has never operated cranes at the Port of Charleston, and so its attempt to take the Leatherman jobs was an illegal acquisition of new work rather than preservation of jobs they already perform.

The ILA’s lawsuit against shipping lines was an effort to intimidate them from using Leatherman, the SPA said, creating a secondary boycott against the maritime agency, which isn’t a party to the union’s contract.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – With exactly one month left until the First in the South Primary, presidential hopeful, Nikki Haley traveled back to her home state for a rally in North Charleston.

“And so, we were very excited last night because we saw that we had gone up 25 points in a month and we were thrilled. So, we got out there and we did our thing and we said what we had to say and then Donald Trump got out there and just threw a temper tantrum,” Haley told the crowd at the Convention Center.

Haley, who previously served as the Governor of South Carolina, called out her opponent former President Donald Trump after his recent victories in Iowa and New Hampshire.

“He was insulting, he was doing what he does, but I know that’s what he does when he’s insecure. I know that’s what he does when he is threatened and he should feel threatened, without a doubt,” Haley said, followed by an eruption of cheers.

The losses aren’t keeping Haley, nor those who came out on Wednesday, from showing their confidence in her path to the White House.

“I think she’s amazing and I think that she has what it takes to bring America back together and not keep us so divided,” said Jessica Adkins of Edisto Island.

Pat Abrahamson, who travelled from Summerville, had similar opinions toward Haley.

“I am all in, 100% behind this woman,” Abrahamson said.

Between the signs, shirts, and buttons, pride for Haley was on full display. Ed Ames, a dedicated supporter, volunteered his time to help set up the event.

“Nikki Haley is a person who, when she says something that she’s going to do, you can be rest assured that she’s going to do it and that she has a proven track record with that up in Columbia,” Ames told News 2.

Not everyone who showed up was pro-Haley. A group of people backing former President Trump gathered outside.

“I love President Trump because he’s the only politician that ever worked for the American people. He put America first,” said Miguel J. Munoz.

Back inside, Haley told the crowd she raised $1 million since her speech on Tuesday night. She encouraged voters to keep the momentum going.

“I promise you; I will do exactly what I did for you when I was Governor of South Carolina and I will spend every single day trying to make you proud,” Haley vowed.

Her next stops on the campaign trail include Mauldin, SC and Conway, SC this weekend.

A large employer in North Charleston will close this summer.

WestRock Co. will permanently cease operating its paper mill in North Charleston on Aug. 31, according to a news release from the company.

The North Charleston mill produces containerboard, uncoated kraft paper (KraftPak), and unbleached saturating kraft paper (DuraSorb), with a combined annual capacity of 550,000 tons, according to the news release.

WestRock is committed to improving its return on invested capital as well as maximizing the performance of its assets, the release stated. The combination of high operating costs and the need for significant capital investment were the determining factors in the decision to cease operations at the mill.

“WestRock and its predecessor companies have had a long history in the region operating the North Charleston mill, and the contributions of the team members over the years have been greatly appreciated,” said WestRock CEO David B. Sewell in the release. “The decision to close a facility and impact the lives of our team members is never easy, and we are committed to assisting our North Charleston team with exploring roles at other WestRock locations and outplacement assistance.”

Containerboard and uncoated kraft currently produced at the mill will be manufactured at other WestRock facilities, the release stated. The company intends to exit the unbleached saturating kraft paper business when the mill shutdown is completed.

WestRock has other South Carolina facilities in Greer, Spartanburg and Florence.

The North Charleston mill employs approximately 500 people, according to the release. Employees will receive severance and outplacement assistance in accordance with WestRock policy and labor union agreements, the release stated.

In a separate release, Ingevity Corp. said that operations at the company’s North Charleston plant will continue as normal with the closure of WestRock.

The two companies will work together to transition limited shared services ahead of closure of the WestRock facility, according to the release. The companies share a common history, but Ingevity has operated as a stand-alone public company since May 2016.

“While we anticipate some cost with the transition of shared services, we expect minimal disruption to our operations,” said Ingevity president and CEO John Fortson in the release. “Our primary focus as WestRock exits their plant site is to ensure safe operations and continue to meet the needs of our customers.”

WestRock’s plant closure does not impact Ingevity’s recently announced long-term supply agreement for crude tall oil with WestRock, according to the release.

WestRock has more than 58,000 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Chicken wings — that messy appetizer that bar-goers are always after, often debating which destination has the best offering. The Lowcountry is, of course, filled with fried chicken, but it also has its fair share of establishments serving some quality chicken wings. Whether the occasion calls for smoked, fried, charred, dry-rubbed, or lathered in hot sauce — these destinations are the undisputed best 16 stops in Charleston for that essential bar snack.

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Nigel’s Good Food is a North Charleston staple, with a second location in Ladson. Folks travel far and wide for Nigel’s very popular Geechie Wings. The chicken is battered, fried, and tossed in a homemade sweet-and-sour wing sauce.

North Charleston’s Holy City Brewery pairs its beers with an extensive bar food menu — including wings. The chicken is smoked and then fried. Customers can choose from nine selections of rubs and sauces, including Nashville Hot, Carolina Gold barbecue, honey sambal, and more.

King BBQ co-owner Corrie Wang grew up in Buffalo, New York, so husband Shuai Wang had to put out some real-deal Buffalo wings covered in the distinctive tangy, buttery red sauce. It is only available on Sundays and pairs well with the Bills games on the television.

Home Team BBQ’s smoked chicken wings are dry-rubbed with a touch of sweetness and served with a side of Alabama white sauce — customers looking for an extra kick can add the two-ounce Death Relish for good measure. Cool it down with a frozen Gamechanger — the restaurant’s take on a Painkiller.

The Royal American on Morrison Drive has a long list of cheap beer and food for guests looking to kick back. The Magic Wings are crispy and best finished with a spritz of lime, best followed by a sip of Miller High Life. The spice comes from Szechuan peppercorns.

Moe’s Crosstown, a cave of a sports bar, takes pride in its pub fare offerings, and the wings reflect, as they come freshly prepared with lots of meat on the bone. Find 15 different sauce options, including the sweet and spicy hot honey mustard and the diabolical Moe Hotter.

Stop by rollicking Vietnamese restaurant Pink Bellies for the garlic “KFC” wings. Despite the moniker, these are far superior to anything the fast food chain puts out. Chef Thai Phi covers the chicken in a sweet soy glaze and tops it with blue cheese and pickled daikon.

Okay, it may be hard to stray from Bay Street Biergarten’s freaky tater tots, but the sports bar also offers up some delicious smoked chicken wings with the usual offerings plus pineapple Sriracha.

Most regard Prohibition for its nightlife or as a place to have an expertly crafted cocktail, but it should be known that the speakeasy-style restaurant also has some of the best wings in the Lowcountry. Chef Greg Garrison uses a Memphis dry rub, and the charred wings sit on top of an irresistible Gorgonzola ranch.

King Street’s Charleston Beer Works is a place to drink beer, watch sports, and consume lots of chicken wings. The sports bar offers 15 different sauces, and patrons can order up to 100 wings at a time.

Sports bar the Brick offers tons of wing flavors to pair with beers and football. There’s 18 flavors, including Old Bay, garlic Parmesan, Buffalo ranch, and more.

Barbecue spot Swig & Swine offers smoked wings in a variety of flavors: dry rub, barbecue, peanut butter and jelly, Alabama white, Tabasco honey, hot honey mustard, and white hot.

This renowned dive bar offers multiple sauce options on its chicken wings, most notably its famous “buffiyaki” creation. Make sure to bring an extra dollar bill, as the Griffon’s walls are covered in George Washingtons stapled on by visitors looking to leave their mark.

Szechuan spot Kwei Fei goes vegan in January, but once meat goes back on the menu, try the Four Rivers wings, which are marinaded, fried crispy, and rolled in a tongue-tingling spice rub.

Customers can order regular or boneless wings at Charleston Sports Pub locations across the Lowcountry. There’s 17 different flavors, and it offers a family wing box with 40 wings and French fries for $54.99.

The wings at Mexican restaurant Minero are grilled over charcoal and then shaken up at your tableside with a liberal dousing of Valentina hot sauce. It’s smoky, tangy, and a little messy.

Nigel’s Good Food is a North Charleston staple, with a second location in Ladson. Folks travel far and wide for Nigel’s very popular Geechie Wings. The chicken is battered, fried, and tossed in a homemade sweet-and-sour wing sauce.

North Charleston’s Holy City Brewery pairs its beers with an extensive bar food menu — including wings. The chicken is smoked and then fried. Customers can choose from nine selections of rubs and sauces, including Nashville Hot, Carolina Gold barbecue, honey sambal, and more.

King BBQ co-owner Corrie Wang grew up in Buffalo, New York, so husband Shuai Wang had to put out some real-deal Buffalo wings covered in the distinctive tangy, buttery red sauce. It is only available on Sundays and pairs well with the Bills games on the television.

Home Team BBQ’s smoked chicken wings are dry-rubbed with a touch of sweetness and served with a side of Alabama white sauce — customers looking for an extra kick can add the two-ounce Death Relish for good measure. Cool it down with a frozen Gamechanger — the restaurant’s take on a Painkiller.

The Royal American on Morrison Drive has a long list of cheap beer and food for guests looking to kick back. The Magic Wings are crispy and best finished with a spritz of lime, best followed by a sip of Miller High Life. The spice comes from Szechuan peppercorns.

Moe’s Crosstown, a cave of a sports bar, takes pride in its pub fare offerings, and the wings reflect, as they come freshly prepared with lots of meat on the bone. Find 15 different sauce options, including the sweet and spicy hot honey mustard and the diabolical Moe Hotter.

Stop by rollicking Vietnamese restaurant Pink Bellies for the garlic “KFC” wings. Despite the moniker, these are far superior to anything the fast food chain puts out. Chef Thai Phi covers the chicken in a sweet soy glaze and tops it with blue cheese and pickled daikon.

Okay, it may be hard to stray from Bay Street Biergarten’s freaky tater tots, but the sports bar also offers up some delicious smoked chicken wings with the usual offerings plus pineapple Sriracha.

Most regard Prohibition for its nightlife or as a place to have an expertly crafted cocktail, but it should be known that the speakeasy-style restaurant also has some of the best wings in the Lowcountry. Chef Greg Garrison uses a Memphis dry rub, and the charred wings sit on top of an irresistible Gorgonzola ranch.

King Street’s Charleston Beer Works is a place to drink beer, watch sports, and consume lots of chicken wings. The sports bar offers 15 different sauces, and patrons can order up to 100 wings at a time.

Sports bar the Brick offers tons of wing flavors to pair with beers and football. There’s 18 flavors, including Old Bay, garlic Parmesan, Buffalo ranch, and more.

Barbecue spot Swig & Swine offers smoked wings in a variety of flavors: dry rub, barbecue, peanut butter and jelly, Alabama white, Tabasco honey, hot honey mustard, and white hot.

This renowned dive bar offers multiple sauce options on its chicken wings, most notably its famous “buffiyaki” creation. Make sure to bring an extra dollar bill, as the Griffon’s walls are covered in George Washingtons stapled on by visitors looking to leave their mark.

Szechuan spot Kwei Fei goes vegan in January, but once meat goes back on the menu, try the Four Rivers wings, which are marinaded, fried crispy, and rolled in a tongue-tingling spice rub.

Customers can order regular or boneless wings at Charleston Sports Pub locations across the Lowcountry. There’s 17 different flavors, and it offers a family wing box with 40 wings and French fries for $54.99.

The wings at Mexican restaurant Minero are grilled over charcoal and then shaken up at your tableside with a liberal dousing of Valentina hot sauce. It’s smoky, tangy, and a little messy.