A few weeks ago, I took up for the city of Walterboro, South Carolina after its leaders got some grief over their preparations for ‘Murdaughpalooza’ – a.k.a. the double homicide trial of accused killer Alex Murdaugh.

In case you missed that report, a vocal minority covering this trial are apparently upset with Walterboro’s leaders for wanting to provide the throng of people descending upon their city over the next few weeks with additional dining options (including food trucks).

The horror, right?

Imagine people needing to eat …

In rebuking these critics, I noted how our trial producer Ashleigh Messervy (whom you can read more about in this post) had been busy working up several segments for a report on how Walterboro – a.k.a. the “Front Porch of the Lowcountry” – was preparing for the ‘Murdaughpalooza’ influx.

Messervy sat down with Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill and city tourism and downtown development director Scott Grooms – the “Murdaughpalooza’ organizers – to hear more about their plans for hosting an O.J. Simpson-sized trial in a town of less than 6,000 people.

For months, Hill and Grooms have been working around-the-clock on multiple fronts to make sure both the city and the courthouse were ready for the deluge – and to ensure everyone flocking to Walterboro to catch a glimpse of these historic proceedings knew what to expect.

It has been a Herculean task – a definitional logistical nightmare – but Hill, Grooms and countless other city, court and law enforcement partners working with them have proven themselves more than equal to the task.

Here is Messervy’s report on their preparations for South Carolina’s “trial of the century …”

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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For the Press and Standard

One of the most important questions we ask folks who are looking to buy a restaurant is, “What kind of concept are you planning?” Some people don’t have a firm idea yet and are simply looking through our listings, gathering ideas and fueling their dream. But when ideas start to coalesce with types of food, style of ambience, and a workable budget, a concept takes shape. Finalizing essential details like location, size, and improvements come with the search for just the right space. Before you know it, your sign is up, the doors are open, and customers are posting rave reviews with their selfies.

Ownership Options: Franchise or Independent

Two ownership options in the restaurant industry easily direct your preliminary concept considerations: franchise versus independent. Concepts crystallize faster if you’re a franchise-minded entrepreneur; though opportunities vary greatly in food and style, you won’t need to decide things like the theme or menu. Conversely, independents maintain full control over creativity, resulting in concepts as unique as the individual owners.

Franchises come with a proven concept formula, brand recognition, training, and support network. Franchisees pay for such benefits through royalty (and often marketing) fees, established as a percent of gross sales. Up-front costs to start a new franchise can total hundreds of thousands of dollars, whereas purchasing a franchise re-sale is a frequent ‘short-cut’ into the partnership. One of several caveats to look for is called a refresh — updating your restaurant after it’s been open awhile so it adheres to the franchises new design theme changes. While it does keep your business fresh, it can cost unexpected thousands.

Though franchise owners operate with autonomy, they’re always part of a family-centric model that lends to higher success rates. According to SBDCNet, National Information Clearinghouse of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the first-year franchise survival rate is about 6.3% higher than the survival rate of independent businesses.

Despite the many franchise perks, independent ownership still represents over 50% of all US restaurants, according to the NPD Group’s 2021 ReCount® Survey. Though independents assume full responsibility for all operations, and the risk for failure is slightly higher, the flexibility for decision-making and 100% profit retention are worthy trade-offs.

Concept Choices: Food, Theme, Location and Budget

Location, location, location. It must be right for the concept, fit in the budget, be easily accessible for patrons, and distant from competitors. While it’s obvious a casual café located on a busy pedestrian corner with parking garage across the street will do much better than one on a side street with limited pedestrian traffic, some lessor known location caveats include:

Time requirements: A mandated 11pm close isn’t ideal for a boisterous bar.

Lease tenure: If the remaining term is less than 2 years, consider having your broker negotiate a new lease rather than you assuming the existing — otherwise you may be forced to relocate, or worse, close down.

New development: The first tenants that lease in a spiffy new building can often secure lower rent but their operating budget must also sustain waiting longer for patrons to discover their newly developed location.

Size: Even when the location is perfect, if the space is too large for your concept, sales may not cover the higher rent. Similarly, a space that is too small can jam the kitchen and frustrate customers waiting too long for the too few available tables.

Don’t let these basics overwhelm you. You’re embarking on a fantastic journey that can lead to the most satisfying years of your life! The more you understand your choices, the more confidently you can embark on your dream.

Know Yourself, Know Your Audience.

Be honest with yourself over some basic questions early in the process; it will simplify your search for the right space and lend greater success to your new restaurant!

How well do you work with others? Are you comfortable as a group leader or do you prefer an independent work style? Only you know if you’re happier creating culinary masterpieces in a kitchen with a sous chef, prep staff, and expediter, or if engaging with customers, managing the dining room, and assisting wait staff is more your forte. It’s also important to acknowledge your strengths, and weaknesses: are you tech-savvy enough to operate modern POS systems, or is pencil and paper still your go-to?

Once you’ve narrowed things for your initial concept choice, it’s critical to know what type of customer you want to serve. Blue collar workers hungry for meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy, or young professionals seeking seared ahi over quinoa and greens? A new mother grabbing a morning snack and chai latte after yoga, or couples on a date who want wings, burgers and beer?

Traditional Concept Styles

Restaurant styles are nearly as varied as the ingredients that comprise its dishes. Traditional concepts are simpler to pinpoint than 21st century restauranteurs’ amorphous styles. Such modern-day owners are answering to a vast, growing audience: foodies with adventurous taste buds ripe for international flavors and eclectic dishes. An equally tall order is the trend of diners seeking locally and regionally sourced food that result in shorter, more transparent supply chains. Think community gardens, sustainable seafood, and clean eating.

No matter whether you dream of a mom-and-pop style diner or art gallery-esque theme serving seasonal Middle Eastern street foods, here are some basic concepts to get you started:

Fast Food (also known as Quick Service Restaurants, or QSR): convenient and affordable for customers, offering food to be eaten on the go; limited ingredients lend to higher quality control for the owner; easiest to maintain a low but reasonable profit margin; most suitable to burgers, subs, fried chicken, tacos, fries, limited desserts; alcohol rarely served.

Café: primarily light fare with extensive alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages; think wine bar with tapas, or coffee house with savory and sweet options; profits tend to be higher than concepts with complicated food prep; minimal décor; fewer staff.

Casual: fairly quick but with sit-down table service; informal and friendly atmosphere; theme contributes to overall dining experience; may include combination counter-service and wait-staff ordering; higher prices than QSR thus greater profit potential; suitable for all types of cuisine; alcohol usually served and a significant profit contributor; can become a destination for celebrations and larger gatherings, lending to higher profits from alcohol and dessert orders.

Fine Dining: formal ambience and highly attentive service; exceptional cuisine with artistic plating; rarer food selections and combinations; often multi-course Prix Fixe menus with optional wine pairings; patrons come for the experience as well as the tastes — they want to ‘see and be seen’; potential for elevated reputation, premium ratings, and high profits.

Bar / Lounge: intentionally established for socializing with focus on alcohol; food varies from light fare and small plates to broader menu with specialties and easy-to-eat entrees; sports taverns present a modern-twist and exceptional opportunity to foster community loyalty; smaller spaces hold potential for quick-serve foods not requiring vent-hoods like charcuterie and canned specialties.

Now that you know more about restaurant concepts and have made a few preliminary decisions, it’s time to go shopping. The Certified Restaurant Brokers at We Sell Restaurants are highly trained to help you navigate the varied listings, negotiate an offer, assist through Due Diligence, lending, franchise application and training if applicable, and close on the deal. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of watching your sign go up, preparing for your opening night, and seeing folks enjoy your concept, yes, YOUR concept! For more information charleston@wesellrestaurants.com, https://www.wesellrestaurants.com/restaurant-broker/South-Carolina/Charleston-Team/147, Emily Benedict, Certified Restaurant Broker®, We Sell Restaurants, Charleston, SC

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For Press and Standard

COLUMBIA, SC --- The Charter Institute at Erskine is taking action to address teacher shortages in South Carolina through the formation of a new nonprofit, TeachRight USA (TRUSA). TeachRight USA recently welcomed Tracey Williams as the first Executive Director.

At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, there were over 1400 teacher vacancies (according to CERRA) in the state of South Carolina. This number is growing exponentially as fewer people are entering the teaching profession and many veteran teachers are exiting the profession. This is particularly problematic in school districts where there is a greater minority population. Unless action is taken, the achievement gaps between our most disadvantaged and vulnerable students and their peers will continue to grow.

These problems are what TeachRight USA aims to address through proposing a new pathway to attract and retain talent in education, maintaining accountability for the work in the classroom and student impact. TRUSA’s approach includes drastically reducing the 4-7 years of education that is currently required before a teacher can enter a classroom to increase the number of prospective teachers and generate an effective teacher recruitment pool. TRUSA’s work has already begun with the hiring of their first Executive Director, Ms. Tracey Williams.

With over 20 years of experience in the field of education, Williams brings a unique perspective on the future of education to the role of TeachRight USA Executive Director. As a public-school teacher and administrator, she has observed firsthand how the teacher shortage affects existing teachers and students. As an AdvancEd (Cognia) district diagnostic team member, Williams knows that this is not only a problem in South Carolina, but in some of the largest school districts across the country.

Williams is a graduate of Clemson University where she earned a B.S. and a M.ED. She earned her second graduate degree from American Public University in Educational Leadership. Williams’ expertise extends to traditional school districts, business educational needs, and higher education programs. Williams previously contributed to the success of South Carolina’s virtual schools and has always taken an innovative approach to solving educational problems.

The Charter Institute at Erskine is the fastest-growing charter school authorizer in South Carolina, which serves 24 schools and 24,000 students across the state. They have first-hand experience with the need and urgency to create a solution and will support Williams and TRUSA in executing this initiative. For more information about Teach Right USA, please visit www.teachrightusa.org. For more information about the Institute, please visit www.erskinecharters.org.

Colleton County High School Athletic Department hosted a National Letter of Intent signing day for two athletes at the performing arts center at the high school last week. Jordan Slocum and Makayla Chisolm signed softball scholarships to North Greenville College and to South Carolina State University. Both of the girls earned their scholarships through hard work on the field and off the field. They were both model students who worked hard and a desire and determination to get better at their sport. Both girls are also involved in other sports and excel in those as well.

Makayla Chisolm is the daughter of Betty and Michael Chisolm of Cottageville. Makayla is a 5 year letter winner and 5 years named as all-region. Primarily a third baseman, she has the ability to play several positions on the field.

Chisolm said she choose S.C. State for their strong engineering program and the coaches, players and the environment just felt right to her. “It just felt right for me to be in this location with the coaches and all the players that I got to meet. I plan on majoring in engineering so their program was a big plus for me,” stated Chisolm.

CCHS Coach Tootie Edwards said,’ Makayla was one of the most dedicated players she has ever coached. She is a leader on and off the field always pushing the other players through example and hard work. I sure am happy she was on our team,”

In addition to playing softball, Makayla is a starter on the basketball team and runs track.

Jordan Slocum is the daughter of Christie and Jeff Slocum of Walterboro. Jordan has been playing softball since elementary school. Slocum has developed into an outstanding catcher and plans on playing that position in college. Slocum said she chose North Greenville because of the Christian environment she experienced while visiting he school. “They have a good biology department and I hope to be a physician assistant specializing in dermatology,” said Slocum.

CCHS Coach Edwards describes Slocum as a motivator and pushes other girls on the team. “She is playing the most important position on the team. She has worked hard and understands the game so well that we allow her to call the pitches for the pitcher, “stated Edwards.

In addition to playing softball, Slocum had been a mainstay with CCHS volleyball team for several years.

For the Press & Standard

World-Class Professional Bull Riding (PBR) returns to North Charleston, South Carolina, Feb. 3-4. Interviews available with defending Event Champion Michael Lane.

For the fifth time in history, PBR’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour will buck into North Charleston, returning to the North Charleston Coliseum on Feb. 3-4 with the PBR Collision at The Coliseum.

For two nights only, some of the best bull riders in the world will battle the sport’s rankest bovine athletes in the ultimate showdown of “man vs. beast” in one of the most exciting live sporting events to witness.

As one of the initial events of the regular-season, fans will watch on as some of the sport’s newest up-and-coming talent goes head-to-head against established stars vying for crucial points to return to the sport’s top tour.

Among the contenders hoping for great success in The Palmetto State is veteran rider and defending “Collision at The Coliseum” event winner Michael Lane.

Beginning his career as a youngster riding his siblings’ show sheep, Michael Lane has since become one of the world’s top professional bull riders.

As the winningest bull rider on the PBR’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, in 2021 Lane appeared to be poised to be crowned the tour’s year-end champion until injury struck.

Winning two events throughout the regular season in both Wichita, Kansas, and Bangor, Maine, Lane was ranked number one in the tour standings ahead of the two-day “Velocity Tour Finals” in Las Vegas. Lane, however, was unable to compete, sidelined by a broken thumb. Unable to challenge for the title, Lane finished runner-up to Champion Adriano Salgado by a mere 26.5 points.

In 2022, despite a strong start to the season, winning the “Velocity Tour” event in North Charleston, Lane fell short of his first “Velocity Tour Championship” and a berth to the prestigious “PBR World Finals.”

Eager to reverse his fortunes in 2023, determined to be crowned by the “PBR Velocity Tour Champion” and return to the prestigious “PBR World Finals” for the fourth time in his career, Lane is ready to take North Charleston by storm.

For more information contact Kacie Albert via email at Kacie.Albert@img.com or call (212) 774-6762.