Groove to the Music with Dance Classes Near North Charleston, SC

FOURTH CHICKEN SALAD CHICK COMING TO THE GREATER CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, MARKET WITH NEWEST RESTAURANT OPENING IN NORTH CHARLESTON

PR Newswire

-Fast casual concept celebrates grand opening in Cedar Grove shopping center Dec. 5th with free chicken salad for a year-

ATLANTA , Nov. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick , the nation's only fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today its latest opening in Charleston, South Carolina . Located at 8803 Dorchester Road in North Charleston's Cedar Grove shopping center, this is the fourth Chicken Salad Chick to open in the area from owners Julie Beville and Michelle Singleton , who also own Chicks in Summerville , Mount Pleasant and Goose Creek . The new restaurant features a convenient drive-thru and spacious patio for outdoor seating. The community is invited to celebrate the grand opening on Tuesday, Dec. 5th ; the first 100 guests in line will win free chicken salad for a year.

During grand opening week, North Charleston guests can expect to experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for with specials and giveaways that include:

Chicken Salad Chick's Charleston -area growth is being led by Julie Beville and Michelle Singleton of Sing Bev Hospitality. These multi-unit franchise owners opened their first Chick in Greenville, South Carolina , in 2013 and have steadily expanded to own and operate a total of 16 locations throughout North and South Carolina over the past decade.

" North Charleston - and the greater Charleston market in general - is one of the fastest growing areas in the entire country, and Michelle and I feel so fortunate for the opportunity to open another restaurant here," said Julie Beville , co-owner of Chicken Salad Chick North Charleston. "We love bringing the best chicken salad to our raving fans while also making a positive impact in the local communities we serve."

Sing Bev Hospitality has been partnering with local chapters of the American Cancer Society for years through Chicken Salad Chick's Annual Giving Card and numerous other events and programs that support the CSC Foundation's mission to help raise money to find a cure for cancer. With the North Charleston opening, they will be supporting the local American Cancer Society chapter as part of their pre-opening Friends & Family events.

Chicken Salad Chick in North Charleston will be open Monday – Saturday from 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.chickensaladchick.com . Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and trends.

For more information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickNorthCharlestonSC/ .

*Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. The first 100 guests must remain in line and download the Craving Credits app. Wi-Fi will not be available on site. Once the restaurant opens, guests will make a purchase of "The Chick" or anything of greater value and enter a code in the Craving Credits app to officially secure their spot. If you leave the line for any reason, your spot will be awarded to the next guest in line. Guests will receive their first free Large Quick Chick electronically to their app the Monday following Grand Opening Day. **Must download the CSC App and be 16 years or older to purchase. Not valid with any other offers. Limit 1 reward per guest present."

About Chicken Salad Chick Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama , by Stacy and Kevin Brown , in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 240 restaurants in 18 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in the 2023 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the third consecutive year, Fast Casual.com's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2023, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information.

Contact: Nicole Hunnicutt Fish Consulting 404-558-4108 nhunnicutt@fish-consulting. com

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SOURCE Chicken Salad Chick

A long-deserted movie theater within walking distance of Northwoods Mall in North Charleston was once to be redeveloped into a 124-room hotel.

Not anymore.

Instead of housing out-of-town visitors, the property at 2055 Eagle Landing Blvd. is now the future site of the city’s next public affordable housing neighborhood.

The North Charleston Housing Authority recently purchased the 6.5-acre site for $3.85 million. The sale closed in late October.

Jeremy Erling, the housing agency’s executive director, said the group is currently searching for a developer to build “much needed” affordable housing units on the site. Preliminary studies suggested 130 units, but the end count could be higher or lower.

The authority has been on the hunt for a large property since last summer. After a few offers fell through, Erling said that the former theater site was an ideal fit.

“To see this property just sit there as a vacant parking lot, knowing the tremendous need for affordable housing, it just seems to be a waste,” Erling said. “We get calls and emails every single day from people looking for assistance. Unfortunately, with the limited inventory out there and rising prices increasing rents, it’s difficult to help them all. Any units we can get online helps.”

The organization wanted to secure the land first and design the project around the parcel. Erling said that the size of the lot and its proximity to job opportunities and the proposed Lowcountry rapid bus transit line along Rivers Avenue helped drive the purchase.

The authority bought the property with unused capital funds saved for this purpose, in addition to funds from the sale of homeownership units and other properties, like a portion of Horizon Village in 2017.

The site has been vacant since 2006, when the discount North Charleston Cinema 10 closed. Regal Cinemas bought the property in 1995 for $3.5 million and sold it in 2007 for $2.5 million.

“Between 2015 and now, there’s been a number of people that have placed it under contract for multifamily units, hotels, condos and apartments but nothing has ever materialized,” North Charleston spokesman Ryan Johnson said.

The city determined more than two years ago that the vacant, aging building had become a public safety nuisance, citing the deteriorating condition, vandalism, health hazards and the number of homeless who were using the structure as shelter.

It filed a formal complaint in July 2021 and obtained an order a few weeks later requiring the then-owner to demolish the former theater within 30 days.

North Charleston ended up doing the job itself earlier this year. It also placed a $33,498 lien against the property in February to recoup its costs, according to county real estate records.

The demolition order and lien were directed at 2055 Eagle Point Hotel LLC, which purchased the property for $2.2 million in May 2016. The Florence-based firm included James Brown, a prominent Pee Dee business owner, according to public records.

Brown, who is the CEO of Synergi Partners, a large tax credit consulting firm, said in an email that he was one of numerous investors in the deal. He also said he could not accurately respond to questions about the condition of the building or the abandoned redevelopment plan.

Business

The site was to become a Cambria Hotel & Suites. About two months after Brown’s group bought the property, the Choice Hotels-owned flag announced a development agreement with SpringBridge Development, also of Florence, that called for a 2017 opening date.

City officials said no site plans were ever filed for the Cambria project. Raines Hospitality, which owns four Charleston-area hotels and bought SpringBridge in 2021, did not respond to a request for comment.

NORTH CHARLESTON — Three years after nonprofit Community First Land Trust was launched with a goal of creating affordable housing, a $317,000 contract was signed for construction of its first two houses.

Then just about everything seemed to go wrong.

Nearly three more years have passed since the contract was signed, neither house built in Union Heights is occupied, and one on Arbutus Avenue was so poorly constructed the nonprofit’s leadership expects to tear it down and start over.

A lawsuit is ongoing against the builder.

“Everything that could have gone wrong did,” said Henrietta Woodward, executive director of the nonprofit.

She said the good news is that the second house, on Hugo Avenue, was completed by a second contractor and the nonprofit has a buyer lined up and going through a required homebuyer education course.

The house on Arbutus Avenue is a different story.

North Charleston spokesman Ryan Johnson said that during a final inspection the city found “gaps in stairways, the porch was constructed with rotten wood, the handrails were pulling away, receptacles weren’t flush in the kitchen, windows had gaps” and other problems.

Multiple attempts to reach Dwell In Charleston LLC’s CEO Lawrence Green over several days by phone and email were unsuccessful. The lawyers representing the company did not reply to emails.

In a filed response to the lawsuit, Dwell’s attorneys laid out more than two dozen possible lines of defense and said ”… Dwell denies all allegations directed against it and further denies that plaintiffs are entitled to any recovery from Dwell.”

Special Reports

Community First Land Trust has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in mostly public funding, including $600,000 from Charleston County, and supporters have been sympathetic.

“Granted, this was their very first development project, so of course there were going to be some problems,” said Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities Executive Director Omar Muhammad. “We believe they will deliver on what they have promised the community.”

The land on which the two houses were built was contributed by LAMC, and had been purchased with State Ports Authority mitigation funds meant to compensate for the impact of building a new port and roads in lower North Charleston.

Boom & Balance

Woodward said LAMC introduced Lawrence Green to Community First Land Trust, but Muhammad said LAMC did not recommend him. He said LAMC’s board reviewed an earlier proposal from Green’s company and “felt some of the things did not meet muster for us.”

Woodward said Community First Land Trust is still calculating the expenses from having to significantly rebuild one house and the expected demolition and reconstruction of the other. The nonprofit’s lawsuit does not put a number on the damages being sought.

“Where we are now is we are in a very good place,” she said, with the sale of the nonprofit’s first house expected soon. “Our future looks so bright.”

Community First Land Trust is among a growing number of nonprofits whose model is to make housing more affordable long term by continuing to own the land while selling the house, a financial model somewhat similar to a long-term ground lease.

The nonprofit sets sale prices based on buyers’ income — prices typically below the cost of construction — and sells to people with low to moderate incomes, while also including long-term agreements about potential profits from future sales.

Woodward said the group is getting ready to start building five more houses on land it already controls. LAMC has been an important partner because the organization has accumulated vacant lots around North Charleston’s south end.

Last weekend, the new Park Circle playground in North Charleston opened to much fanfare, as it should have.

More than just being among the largest inclusive playgrounds in the world, it was a reminder that government is able to not just meet, but exceed expectations when it comes to public spaces.

It was hard to take more than a few steps without hearing people exclaim how amazing the project was.

This massive undertaking involved input from a wide range of communities, and it shows.

In addition to the playground, the newly renovated circle space provides recreation spaces and community gathering areas in a safe and welcoming layout.

At a time when our nation is increasingly divided, isolated and driven from behind computer screens, this park stands as a strong force for building community, bridging divides and increasing in-person communication and interaction.

Our family has continued to return since the playground’s opening. What hasn’t changed is that the park continues to be full of people from diverse backgrounds, races, socio-economic statuses and primary languages.

To put it in market terms, there is strong demand for this type of project.

In more poetic terms, it is truly a place of community and joy.

Let this be a reminder to our local leaders that people want bold leaders who envision public spaces that build community.

Let’s hope this is the first of many transformative projects — not just for North Charleston but across the Lowcountry.

BRADY QUIRK-GARVAN

North Charleston

How fitting that this city, which is celebrated for hospitality, is home to what I believe is one of the nation’s premier literary festivals.

For what is more inclusive, more welcoming than a book?

Every reader is invited in; every reader is given new worlds and ideas to explore, new characters to meet and language to fall in love with.

Reading is radical and can be life-changing. That’s why now, as throughout the ages, many seek to ban books.

The Charleston Literary Festival is an extravagant bright spot.

Over nine days, Charleston residents and visitors were charmed and challenged by Pulitzer and Nobel winners, National Book Award and Booker Prize winners, an impressive line-up of more than 30 literary luminaries. That number rivals that of the New Yorker Festival or similar events in major cities.

Congratulations and thanks to Sarah Moriarty and her team for giving this food-and-beverage town plenty to chew on: a rich and diverse array of topics discussed by internationally renowned authors and local talent.

“Embrace the conversation” indeed.

STEPHANIE HUNT

Mount Pleasant

I hesitate to ask for a new government program, but it seems the only thing likely to work.

There needs to be a yearly vehicle safety inspection in South Carolina. Too many cars and trucks have headlights, taillights or brake lights that aren’t working.

Law enforcement cannot be everywhere and stop drivers for these violations.

I believe most people take care of these kinds of issues on their own. But some do not.

Some may not even be aware of a headlight or tail light problem.

What is the solution if not an annual mandatory vehicle safety inspection?

JOHN USHER

Summerville

Everyone is entitled to their personal opinions, but not all personal opinions are of equal value when carefully scrutinized.

It is unsettling that far too many people accept dubious or false information from questionable sources without examining it.

By not challenging false statements, exaggerations and lies made by others, they are contributing to a culture of misinformation and enabling the manipulation of public opinion.

When individuals accept stories without verifying facts or checking claims, they are putting themselves at risk of being influenced by demagogues who use emotions to promote their agendas and spread false information.

Some folks prefer to remain passive, of course, believing it to be a safe and secure approach.

Unfortunately, there are those who, due to a lack of knowledge or perhaps for personal gain, assist demagogues in their schemes, scams, exaggerations, self-serving statements and political chicanery.

The problem with accepting these schemes and lies is that they feed on each other in a cycle of deception: One falsehood leads to another until people become so entangled in the web of deceit that they are no longer able to distinguish the truth from the lies, even when the truth is all that they have left.

J.E. WALKER

Johns Island

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