Auto MechanicNear Mount Pleasant, SC

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — The Savannah Bananas Circus on dirt is quite well known at this point. It's been featured from coast to coast and well beyond that. They keep raising the bar. What will they think of next? This past weekend, a performance and pitch hit appearance by Backstreet Boys phenom Brian Littrell.

In his six-year career, former Major Leaguer and Clemson Tigers standout Tyler Colvin saw a lot of pitchers. But he never saw one like the one he faced this weekend in Savannah.

A Bananas weekend with a Backstreet Boy for a Mt. Pleasant ballplayer (WCIV)

"He came out, rolled out in a barrel," Colvin said. "First pitch, he comes set- wiggles-- his oversized overalls plopped down to his ankles. That's how it started. I thought I'd strike out against him. I was 0-2 real quick and looking like a clown."

More often, these days, Colvin is raking his Mount Pleasant yard than raking fastballs. He impressed the MLB Players Alumni Association enough this summer in an "old man" homerun derby that he got the invite.

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"They said 'hey,' you should probably come help us play against the Savannah Bananas," he said. "I don't know how you can turn that down. My kids never got to see me play. It was fun for them to see old dad out there in a uniform making a fool of himself, having a good time."

After a Radio City Rockette's type dance to start things off, it was baseball- sort of.

"I was all nervous about making an error or something- they were like- don't worry about it-- if you make an error, fall on the ground and do snow angels in the dirt or something," he added. "No boring times of the game. If a fan catches a foul ball, you are out -- keeps everybody in the game for all nine innings."

There is no way to turn away because Backstreet's back, alright? When Brian Littrell made his appearance, it was baseball and a bit of choreography.

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"Bananas are doing their thing at home plate, and it's amazing," he said. "I was behind the pitcher's mound doing it not quite as good as Littrell, but it was fun. Of course, I know all the songs, no big deal. Definitely didn't learn the dances."

But this was more than a goofy baseball show for Colvin. He got to play baseball in front of his three kids.

"It was everything," he said. "Before the game. They have a parade, go through the parade, high-five everybody, do a dance. My wife came around with the kids. I was doing the Hey Baby dance, and I picked up my kids and did a spin with them. They got all these former big leaguers around that played for a long time. They could care less about them. They just wanted the bananas autographs."

And for his wife meeting a Backstreet Boy -- bliss.

"I think our wedding photo is going down, and that is going up," he said.

A new dining venue with ties to a principal of a planned downtown Charleston culinary venture and another Lowcountry restaurant is in the works for northern Mount Pleasant.

Interior construction is underway on Migliori’s Restaurant at 1146 Muhlenbergia Drive in a three-space suite next to Results Physiotherapy off U.S. Highway 17 just north of S.C. Highway 41. The new business recently applied for its state license to sell alcoholic beverages.

Donald Migliori, an attorney with Motley Rice LLC, is the registered agent of the new restaurant.

“We look forward to opening this additional location ... in the beginning of 2024,” Migliori said.

Charleston County land records show Migliori bought the 0.85-acre parcel where the new restaurant is being built for $3.45 million in 2022.

Migliori also has a nearby 2,000-square-foot pizza restaurant at 1055 Highway 41, near a CVS drug store and Sonic Drive-In restaurant. The pizzeria will move to the new 6,000-square-foot site on Muhlenbergia Drive early next year, according to company spokesman Jared Black.

After the move, the existing restaurant will remain in operation but eventually be transformed into a new Italian concept by the middle of next year, Black said.

Additionally, Migliori is involved in the long-planned makeover of a former fine-dining site on the peninsula.

Real Estate

He is the listed agent for Pasta Beach Charleston LLC, which recently re-upped its application to sell booze at 492 King St., where the former 492 restaurant operated for four years until it closed in 2018.

Earlier in the summer, Migliori said work on the King Street site is still underway and an opening timeframe is several months away. Black said the focus is on the new Mount Pleasant venue for now and the downtown restaurant could open by mid-2024 “if everything comes together.”

A group of investors bought the two-story structure at the corner of Mary Street and other items including equipment in 2021 for $6.8 million through a firm called CasaMigs Realty LLC.

A small New England Italian restaurant chain with two locations in Rhode Island and one in Boston also operates under the name Pasta Beach. In 2022, operations director J. Eldredge Ropolo told The Boston Globe that the family-owned business was planning a new establishment in Charleston.

Black said Pasta Beach was the original name for the new downtown venue, but that’s no longer the case. He said the site will either open as an Italian venue under the Migliori umbrella or be leased for another restaurant operator.

New leases

Three new shops are coming to a Hanahan shopping center anchored by Piggly Wiggly supermarket.

An alcoholic beverage store and two vape suppliers recently leased space in Yeaman’s Hall Plaza on Yeamans Hall Road, according to the commercial real estate firm Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic.

James Pugh leased 900 square feet at 1286 Yeamans Hall Road for a liquor store while FX LLC leased 900 square feet at 1288 Yeamans Hall Road and 720 square feet at 1302 Yeamans Hall Road for vape shops.

Now open

A Florence-based memorial shop recently opened an outpost in Charleston.

Brown Memorials Factory Outlet can be found at 2413 Savannah Highway in West Ashley.

To mark the opening, the business is offering a discount up to 20 percent on headstones or columbariums through Sept. 16, according to company vice president Hal Wagner.

Brown Memorials has been serving the Pee Dee area for more than 115 years.

Lights out

A longtime pet-goods retailer in Mount Pleasant has gone dark.

Indigo Creek Pet Supplies at 1314 Stuart Engals Blvd. closed in late August after a 27-year run. Owner Gregory Clark pointed to supply and staffing issues as the reason for closing, according to a report in The Moultrie News.

“It’s just gotten to the point where the other side of the business dealing with my distributors and manufacturers and trying to find employees is becoming too difficult and something that I don’t want to deal with, it’s becoming too stressful for me and I have been doing it for too long for it not to be fun,” Clark said.

Cleaning up

A new vehicle-cleaning business is being built where a bank once operated in Summerville

Tommy’s Express Car Wash soon will take shape at 1319 N. Main St. in front of Walmart.

The new shop is being built by J. Musselman Construction Co. of Charleston, which filed a project commencement notice in Berkeley County on Aug. 28.

Real Estate

A Midvale, Utah, firm called Olympus Palms 3 LLC bought the 0.82-acre site in 2022 for $2.81 million, according to land records. A branch of First Citizens Bank once operated on the property.

Tommy’s announced last spring it would bring its first Lowcountry site to 3680 Ashley Phosphate Road in North Charleston.

Two other shops also are in the works. The company plans to open a car wash at 1509 Trolley Road in Summerville and on Tanger Outlet Boulevard in North Charleston, where a former Burger King was recently demolished.

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Do you know a retail or restaurant business that is opening, closing, expanding or in the works? Reach Warren L. Wise at wwise@postandcourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @warrenlancewise.

A local business owner and longtime Mount Pleasant resident is pursuing an open seat on the Mount Pleasant Waterworks Commission this fall.

Pete Loy enters a semi-crowded field of candidates for the open seat on the MPW Commission. Four other individuals filed for candidacy, including newcomer and energy strategist Ashton Raffety, local leader John Wright, former MPW General Manager Clay Duffie and 2015 Town Council candidate Julio Avendano.

Loy started Citadel Enterprises, a remodeling company based in Mount Pleasant, in 1991. After over 30 years in the business, Loy said he feels that his company is at a place where he can take a step back and start focusing his energy on community involvement and running for an open seat on the Mount Pleasant Waterworks Commission felt right.

“As a successful business professional, I can bring a businessman’s perspective with fresh ideas,” he shared.

The Citadel Enterprises President graduated from the Citadel in 1987 and is a Bishop England High School alum. He shared some additional experience in conservation: he was a chairman for the East Cooper Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association of South Carolina, as well as a former State Director for the organization. Loy said that if elected, he would take a look at opportunities to be proactive in storms and weather events and look at ways to sustainably provide water and wastewater.

“Environment is a concern there because ... we have this phenomena of weather events, rising speeds. These weather events are happening more frequently,” Loy said. “It will only be a bigger challenge as time goes on, so we need to find ways to provide sustainable sources of water and wastewater.”

Loy also mentioned monitoring growth and development as it relates to the utility.

“Generally speaking, I want to be able to control it. I don’t want to shut it down, but it needs to be sustainable. It needs to be smart and it needs to pay for itself. We’re faced with sprawl and development and you don’t want to infringe on anybody’s property rights, but we just need to be smart about it.

If elected, Loy said he would prioritize taking time to listen, both to the other six members of the commission and MPW’s customer base. He also feels his experience as a successful business owner will help him focus on attracting qualified new hires.

Loy commended the work that MPW has already done in improving the water quality in the Town, and the effective collaboration between the current Board of Commissioners.

“They’ve worked well together. They get along. We’re very lucky to have (MPW General Manager) Allan Clum. He’s intelligent. He’s a collaborator. So that’s a good thing, so I would be walking into being set up for success,” Loy said.

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A fondue restaurant chain plans to expand into the Lowcountry.

Bob Johnston, CEO of The Melting Pot, said the Tampa, Fla.-based company is looking to add two locations in Charleston and Mount Pleasant. He cited the Palmetto State’s strong tourism industry as a key reason for the expansion plan.

The chain already has a presence in Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach. It said it hopes to have 15 locations in South Carolina by 2025.

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Liberty Senior Living wants to add more units to its South Bay continuing care facility, but it needs an amendment to a planned development because of Mount Pleasant’s moratorium on new multifamily buildings.

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3: Number of new restaurants planning to open in the fall in an expanding Charleston-area shopping center.

65,000: Size of proposed new supermarket in a new retail development beside Freshfields Village between Kiawah and Seabrook islands.

2563: Address on Ashley River Road for a fast-food restaurant that recently turned out the lights.

+ More multifamily: A 110-unit townhome development is in the works for the Point Hope area of Charleston on the Cainhoy peninsula.

+ Doctor’s orders: A medical office building is being proposed in Point Hope.

+ Sliding sales: Charleston-area home sales slipped again in July for the 23rd consecutive month.

A social venue called Ocean Club is being proposed at the site of the former Sand Dunes Club property on Sullivan’s Island.

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A former chiropractor’s office has been transformed into a specialty market selling meat, sauces, seasonings, grilling accessories and more.

Owned by Maddy and Jeremy Park, Heights Meat Market is now open at 426 W. Coleman Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.

Prior to its July 1 opening, the Parks moved to Charleston from Florida, where the original three Heights Meat Market locations operate. The Mount Pleasant venue is the first to open outside of the Sunshine State.

With everything from classic pork chops to Australian wagyu filet, alligator tenders, duck and even kangaroo, the new specialty shop stands out while offering products across the price spectrum.

On the weekends, Heights’ employees are cooking up samples for customers, imparting some edible entertainment into the shopping experience.

“It’s a fun place to shop,” Maddy Park said. “If they come in on any weekend, they’re going to get some tasty treats.”

Heights Meat Market is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit heightsmeatmarket.com.

Fatz Cafe is done, cooked.

With less than 10 grand in the bank, the South Carolina-born and -bred casual dining chain pulled the plug on its remaining 18 restaurants about two weeks ago, including eight in the Palmetto State. Its owner of less than a year filed for bankruptcy about 48 hours later.

“We thank you for your support throughout our years in business,” according to a sign that was posted at a shuttered location in eastern Tennessee.

Texas-based owner ACM Fatz VII LLC will likely be liquidating assets to repay creditors rather than try to reduce debt and restructure its finances.

The company called the decision to shut down the chain “difficult.”

“While this is not the outcome anyone expected or wanted, we take solace in knowing that ACM Fatz Cafe served its intended purpose by providing a place for family and friends to gather around a dinner table and make memories that can be cherished for a lifetime,” it said in a written statement Thursday.

The bankruptcy petition the company filed in Dallas on Aug. 25 painted a grim financial picture, with sales falling 15 percent from 2021 to $32 million last year.

Fatz also listed total debts of $5.14 million, including back rent and taxes owed to various landlords and government agencies. The company’s assets were valued at $7.3 million, made up mostly of equipment and furnishings.

The operating account held just $9,912.50.

Fatz Cafe served up its first healthy-portion dish about 35 years ago in a converted peach shed in Spartanburg County, with Calabash chicken among the staples on the Southern-style comfort-food menu.

The concept was the brainchild of late Upstate restaurateur Jimmy Rogers, whose Cafe Enterprises Inc. holding company later added three more locations. By the late 1990s, the founder had moved on after selling his stake in the business to a former CEO of Quincy’s Steakhouse.

While its seemingly sudden demise last month was a surprise to outsiders, Taylors-based Fatz has been struggling for more than a decade, including a previous bankruptcy stint more than six years ago.