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

North Carolina-based Harris Teeter plans 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.

As of early February, the master-planned community had 3,000 single-family houses and townhomes sold and under construction and 1,860 apartments completed, according to Cataline.

More homes are coming to the area in a separate development southwest of Nexton. About 700 housing units are planned on part of a 1,000-acre tract near Nexton Parkway and Drop Off Drive near Interstate 26. Summerville annexed the large swath of land west of Sheep Island Road in 2020. Most of Nexton is not in the town of Summerville.

A Mount Pleasant-based publisher of local and regional history books that last branched out to New England is adding the Midwest to its geographic portfolio.

Arcadia Publishing announced Feb. 8 that it has acquired Belt Publishing, which is headquartered in Ohio.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Arcadia described the new addition to its literary lineup as “an independent press known for its commitment to publishing diverse voices and stories from the Rust Belt,” including “serious nonfiction on any topic” and “smart narrative” accounts.

Arcadia CEO Brittain Phillips said the deal delivers “two terrific opportunities in one acquisition.”

“It strengthens our local and regional catalog in the Midwest, where Belt has been publishing remarkable books for a decade,” he said in a written statement. “And as we look to the future, Belt helps to expand the way we think about local-interest publishing, with new voices and fresh ways to define sense of place.”

Belt was started in 2013 by former English professor Anne Trubek. She said that “while it has been fun to own and run a small business,” it also could be “overwhelming and stressful.”

Belt has released such titles as “What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia” and “The Last Children of Mill Creek.” It will continue to operate under its current name with Trubek staying on as publisher “while benefiting from Arcadia’s unique sales and marketing model for local and regional content,” according to the prepared statement.

Trubek said the Wingo Way company “has long been the model for local-interest publishing and served as the inspiration for Belt.”

“We will be able to continue with our editorial program and expand into new areas, together. ... How tremendous,” she said.

Aracadia was founded in 1994 and has amassed a catalog of more than 20,000 titles that focus on “hyper-local” history and culture. Many of the books are loaded with vintage photographs and include distinct sepia images on the covers.

Less than a month after the state’s health department issued a sweeping letter to food and beverage makers warning against advertising THC, High Rise Beverage Co. announced it will pause its distribution of hemp seltzers.

The Charleston-based brand made the announcement Feb. 7. The decision comes as the company plans to launch a hemp and THC-free line of adaptogen seltzers in March.

The “Blackout Edition” is a response to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Jan. 22 letter to the hemp industry declaring that product labels for hemp-infused food and drink shouldn’t declare that they contain THC, CBD or Delta-9 — though all of them naturally occur in hemp oil.

High Rise said in a statement that 10 cents from every can sold from the “Blackout Edition” will go toward advocacy for hemp laws and educational initiatives in the field.

Matt Skinner, co-founder of High Rise, told The Post and Courier that the company’s cannabis dry bar will also be going cannabinoid-free.

The nonalcoholic movement is big enough to support the dry bar without THC, Skinner said. And at this point, he feels like High Rise is a brand beyond its THC products.

High Rise isn’t the only business pulling back from distributing hemp products in South Carolina.

In response to a raid on his hemp shop, delayed justice and a lack of clarity about what is and isn’t legal, Michael Sims is planning to close Crowntown Cannabis, his only South Carolina location.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Santa has a jam-packed schedule this holiday season. Are you wondering where to take the kids to see Santa? Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the areas Santa will be across the Lowcountry.

Summerville

– Head to Top Dawg Tavern in Summerville on Dec. 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and grab some pictures with Santa. Kids are welcome to attend, and there will be live music from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with specials running all night.

– Children of Summerville can take pictures and give Santa their wish list letters at the Old Time Summerville Christmas Celebration on Nov. 28 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Mount Pleasant

– Support local children’s charities and see Santa and Mrs. Clause by attending Winter Wonderland at The Belle Hall Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant. The event will be Dec. 1 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

– All kids can get a free chocolate pop and a photo shoot with Santa at Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre from Nov. 24 to Dec. 24. To see the photo shoot schedule and make reservations, go to https://mtpleasanttownecentre.com/events/photos-with-santa-claus/

– Ahead of the Folly Beach Christmas Parade, citizens can grab photos with Santa Pierview, Pavilion Ballroom, Dec. 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. There will be ornament-making craft tables and a hot and cold food buffet. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.tidesfollybeach.com/breakfast-with-santa/?utm_source=third_party_listings&utm_medium=calendar_listing&utm_campaign=santa-breakfast

Isle of Palms

– Eat at Rudolph’s pancake buffet and have breakfast with Santa on Dec. 2 in the Tides Ballroom at Wild Dunes Resort from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Call 877-230-9224 to book a reservation.

Cottageville

– Bee City Zoo’s Wonderland of Lights will feature Santa visits from Nov. 22 to Dec. 31. To purchase tickets and see Santa’s schedule, visit https://www.beecityzoo.com/

North Charleston

– Visit with Santa at the City of North Charleston Christmas Festival and Parade at Felix C. Davis Community Center, Dec. 2, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

– Santa’s Workshop will be set up at Northwoods Mall in North Charleston on Nov. 22. To reserve your visit or find visitor hours, click here: https://www.shopnorthwoodsmall.com/store/santas_workshop

Charleston

– Santa will be at the Citadel Mall Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Nov. 24 through Dec. 24. You can also make reservations and skip the line at citadelmall.net

– Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be at The Charleston Place on the 2nd-floor landing Dec. 2,9 and 16 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

– The Charleston Santa welcomes visitors at The Best Friend Train Museum every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Reservations are required; however, admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Dec. 16, 17, and 23, which will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

– Visit with Santa in the library at The Restoration Hotel on Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

– On Christmas Eve, Santa will be at the Crown Ballroom for a breakfast buffet filled with sweet and savory foods. If you want breakfast with Santa, call 843-990-5460 or make reservations online at https://www.opentable.com/r/hotel-bennett-special-events-charleston. Tickets are $82 per adult and $47 for children under 12.

LEXINGTON — Yannick Smith fell to his knees at midfield.

The 6-2, 200-pound senior receiver turned to look at the scoreboard one more time, hoping that the final score would be different this time.

It wasn’t. Summerville’s dream season had come to an end.

Landon Sharp threw for 181 yards and a touchdown and running back Tiyon Fanning rushed for two more scores to lead White Knoll past Summerville by 21-14 Friday night before a standing-room-only crowd in the Class AAAAA Lower State finals.

The Timberwolves (14-0) will take on Dutch Fork, a 31-30 winner over J.L. Mann, on Dec. 1 for the Class AAAAA state championship.

The Green Wave, who had been the state’s top-ranked team for most of the season, finished the season at 13-1.

The Green Wave offense had been almost unstoppable during the regular season and playoffs. Summerville was coming off a 63-point outing last week against Carolina Forrest.

White Knoll was more than equal to the task, limiting the Green Wave to a season-low 14 points and 281 yards of total offense.

“Our kids battled the whole game; we played about as badly as we could offensively during the first half,” said Summerville coach Ian Rafferty. “We had a chance in the end, but we didn’t make enough plays. That’s a really good team over there.

“That’s the best defense we played against this year. We were a couple of plays short tonight. It’s playoff football. It’s a great environment. This one game doesn’t define us. We had a great run this year.”

Smith, one of the state’s top wide receivers, had a couple of big plays, but the Timberwolves defense kept his impact to a minimum.

“They hit us with a few big plays, (Smith) is a great player, I think I aged a few years watching him run out there,” White Knoll coach Nick Pelham said. “We did a really good job of getting off blocks and making tackles We pride ourselves on tackling, we tackle four times a week normally and in a game like this is when it pays off.”

Chuck Reedy had heard the rumors.

There had been sightings of a ‘big kid’ walking the halls of Goose Creek High School, and coaches and players warned Reedy that he needed to reach out to the ‘big kid’ before the basketball team came and scooped him up.

“There were these rumors about a sophomore transfer that was coming to Goose Creek,” said Reedy, who coached the Gators from 2002-14. “A couple of coaches told me they’d seen him walking around and that I needed to go get him.”

The ‘big kid’ in question turned out to be Javon Kinlaw, who at the age of 15 was already 6-foot-5 and weighed in at almost 300 pounds.

“I can still remember the first time I saw him,” Reedy said. “He got out of his father’s truck, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh’ that’s what a real football player looks like.’”

The ‘big kid’ will be playing on the biggest stage this Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

Kinlaw, who is in his fourth season with San Francisco, is one of a handful of players in Super Bowl LVIII with connections to the state of South Carolina.

The Palmetto State connections include 49ers wide receivers Deebo Samuel (South Carolina) and Ray-Ray McCloud (Clemson) and defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (S.C. State); Kansas City wide receiver Justyn Ross (Clemson) and Chiefs assistant coach Rod Wilson, who went to Cross High School, and played for South Carolina.

Lowes Foods, a Carolinas-based grocer, is opening a fifth store in the Charleston market in Summerville, while the company plans to close other locations.

The Summerville store will be 50,887 square feet and will anchor a new retail center between two large Berkeley County residential developments, according to a news release. The new Lowes Foods store, scheduled to open in 2025, is on the northeast side of the 5,000-acre Nexton community.

In addition, Lowes Foods has acquired Foothills IGA Market in Marble Hill, Ga., the release stated This will be the brand’s first store in Georgia. The store will continue to operate as an IGA for the next few months and will become a Lowes Foods store sometime in early 2024.

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Along with the expansion, Lowes Foods will be making the decision to close two stores, the release stated. Food Country purchased the location in Stuart, Va., at the end of September. The store in Yadkinville, N.C., will be closing at the end of this month. Employees in the Yadkinville store are being given opportunities in other Lowes Foods.

“Lowes Foods is deeply committed to providing an exceptional shopping experience for our guests at all our store locations,” Tim Lowe, head of Retail, and Alex Lee, president, Lowes Foods said in the release. “Our coming stores in Summerville and Georgia will be important areas of growth for our company, and we’re excited about our continuing expansion in those markets. We also are pleased that Food Country has agreed to work to retain our employees in Stuart as our store there becomes part of the Food Country brand.”

In addition to Summerville and Marble Hill, Lowes has previously announced new stores in Aiken, and Kannapolis, Concord, Indian Land, and Winterville, N.C. A new store in Pittsboro, N.C., opened in June of this year.

Founded in 1954, Lowes Foods employs nearly 9,000 people and operates 82 full-service supermarkets in the Carolinas.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Former President Donald Trump took the stage at a campaign event in Summerville Monday predicting a record-breaking win in the South Carolina Primary as he campaigned for a second term as commander-in-chief.

Trump is speaking Monday afternoon at Sportsman Boats in his first visit to South Carolina since the Silver Elephant Gala last month.

He told the crowd that his last two years in office were the best two years South Carolina boat builders and South Carolina businesses have ever had, saying that boat builders couldn’t make the boats fast enough.

“When I left the office business was roaring like a 400 horsepower Mercury outboard motor,” Trump said. “But then the economy slammed into a pile of rocks known as crooked Joe Biden.”

He promised to end Biden’s “war on American energy” and reclaim energy independence.

“In other words, we will drill, baby, drill,” he said.

Trump said he won South Carolina twice by record numbers and pledged to do it again.

“We did phenomenally here. We’ve always done well here and we’re going to do it at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” he said. “So we broke the record twice. We’re going to break it a third time. We’re going to break our own record.”

He said he intends to “take back our country and we’re going to make America great again.”

Before Trump’s speech, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster told the crowd he went into the State House about a month after Trump went into the White House.

“And South Carolina has been booming ever since,” he said. “But then in January 2021, everything changed.”

McMaster said his administration has had to fight the Biden Administration “every day.” He cited the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for military personnel, and accused it of destroying the nation’s borders and the nation’s energy independence.

“From 2016 until now, [the Biden Administration] has been doing anything and everything they could, legal, illegal, ethical, unethical, unheard of, unprecedented, to do one thing: That includes two bogus impeachments and full-of-baloney indictments to do what? To stop one man, to stop our man from being president of the United States,” McMaster said.

Dorchester County deputies said earlier on Monday that Trump’s visit to Summerville would cause delays on Highway 78 from Summerville east of Berlin G. Myers Parkway to Jedburg Road at Mallard Road. Drivers in the area are asked to search for alternate routes if they don’t live or work along Highway 78 and are encouraged to use other entrances to neighborhoods in the area.

Traffic delays are expected to last through about 5 p.m. Monday but the delays could be extended.

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