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A new grocery option is headed to a fast-growing area of Lexington County.

Lowes Foods, the North Carolina-based grocery chain that has stores across the South and the Midlands, will open a new location in the Red Bank area, according to a news release from the company.

The store will be located near the northeast corner of South Lake Drive and Platt Springs Road. It will be the anchor of the under-development Platt Springs Crossing mixed-use retail project, according to a release from NAI Columbia.

A construction timeline for the new Lexington County location hasn’t been determined, Lowes said.

There already are several Lowes locations in the Midlands, including on Augusta Highway near Lexington High School, on Sunset Boulevard in Lexington, on Chapin Road in Chapin, on Forest Drive in Forest Acres and on Forum Drive in northeast Columbia. Aside from their staple grocery offerings, Lowes Foods stores are known for their Boxcar Coffee Co. coffee shops, Beer Den craft beer bars, and Smokehouse meat counters, among other options.

The South Lake Drive and Platt Springs Road areas have continued to see commercial growth in Red Bank.

For instance, on Tuesday a new Lizard’s Thicket restaurant opened at 1772 South Lake Drive, right next to a Walmart store and a PopShelf location.

And there’s the aforementioned Platt Springs Crossing project that is being developed at Platt Springs Road and Old Orangeburg Road. Announced in 2023, that project encompasses nearly 60 acres in Red Bank. It will ultimately include a host of commercial businesses, as well as a residential component, developers have said. Among other things, a Whataburger has plans to go on the Platt Springs Crossing site, as does a Tidal Wave Auto Spa car wash and a Panda Express Chinese restaurant.

The coming development is across the street from a Publix grocery store, as well as a Chick-fil-A that opened in 2022 and a Wendy’s that opened in August 2023.

This story was originally published January 18, 2024, 8:53 AM.

Where’s the beef?

In Red Bank, actually.

A new Wendy’s restaurant recently opened its doors in the Red Bank area of Lexington County. The latest location of the well-known chain — where you can pick up burgers, breakfast and, of course, a Frosty — is located at 5419 Platt Springs Road. The restaurant has a modern design and a covered outdoor patio for dining.

The Platt Springs Road Wendy’s is open from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, according to a message on its roadside sign Tuesday morning.

There are more than 6,500 Wendy’s stores in operation across the globe, according to the company’s website. With the newest addition in the Red Bank area, there are now 19 Wendy’s locations in the Midlands area.

The new Wendy’s on Platt Springs Road is the latest example of growth in that corridor. A new Chick-fil-A restaurant opened last year at 5465 Platt Springs, directly in front of a Publix grocery store. In June, an Express Oil and Tire Engineers location opened right beside the Chick-fil-A, at 5449 Platt Springs. And, earlier this year, developers announced plans for a more than 60-acre mixed-use development directly across the road from the Publix shopping center, at the intersection of Platt Springs Road and Old Orangeburg Road.

Lexington County has continued to see growth across several decades. Census statistics show the county’s population has swelled from 167,000 in 1990 to 300,000 in 2021.

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - An Italian restaurant in Lexington has closed down after the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) revoked their retail license.

Alodia’s Cucina Italiana of Lexington underwent a difficult end, having gone through a temporary closure, allegations of employees going unpaid and a fine from the Department of Labor for paying employees late.

SCDOR said the restaurant owes $13,244.99 in unpaid sales tax plus penalties and interest, as reflected in a state tax lien.

Without their retail license, Alodia’s is unable to legally do business.

The restaurant posted a message on their website soon after, announcing they are closing effective immediately. “Despite our deep desire to serve this wonderful community, we find it is no longer feasible to do so,” the message reads in part.

The full message can be found below:

Dear Friends and Patrons of Alodia’s,

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of Alodia’s Lexington effective immediately. For the past six years, our restaurant has been a place of gathering, joy, and delicious meals, shared among family, friends, and the wider Lexington community.

We have cherished every moment spent with you, and are truly grateful for the support, love, and laughter that you have brought into our establishment. Each meal served and every occasion celebrated at Alodia’s Lexington will be remembered fondly.

I would like to extend a special thank you to all of our staff, past and present. You have been more than just employees; you have become family. Your dedication, hard work, and passion have been the backbone of Alodia’s. It has been an honor to work alongside each of you, and your contributions will always be valued and remembered.

Since the shutdown, many things have changed, not only in the rising costs of commodities but also in other areas of operations. These changes have made it increasingly difficult for us to continue operating as we have. Despite our deep desire to serve this wonderful community, we find it is no longer feasible to do so.

Thank you for understanding, and more importantly, thank you for being a part of our Alodia’s family.

Warm regards,

Adam Huneau

Owner, Alodia’s Lexington

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A new 101-room hotel proposed for downtown Lexington has cleared a potential hurdle and is back on track to transform a vacant lot along the heart of Main Street.

The four-story, 61,000-square-foot Courtyard by Marriott to be built at 116 E. Main St., between the costume shop Wretched Collections and Bodhi Thai Dining, was approved Tuesday, March 12, by the town’s Board of Appearance following a denial the first time the board considered the project in January.

The hotel, which will also bring a bistro and bar that will sit right along the increasingly bustling dining and nightlife corridor, comes via local hotel developer Lexington Hospitality. The company already manages a Quality Inn and Suites and a Holiday Inn Express & Suites a couple blocks up West Main Street. It also maintains the Aloft and Holiday Inn in downtown Columbia.

There had been rumblings of a hotel coming to the lone vacant lot along downtown Lexington’s core block for years, and with its initial denial, the Board of Appearance put the future of the project into doubt.

Though the approval is a big win for the hotel, there are still more steps before it can become a reality.

“Just recently it has entered the appearance approval stages before plans and land disturbance permits are submitted,” Laurin Barnes, the town’s communications manager, said of the hotel and where it stands. “This is an early stage in the development process. The developers want to know if the town will approve the look of the building.”

The Board of Appearance must sign off on the look and size of new buildings, considering town code and how new structures will fit in with existing buildings. It denied the hotel proposal the first time around, emphasizing that the look of the building needed to better fit Main Street and expressing concern that the building as first proposed would dominate its neighbors — none of the existing buildings along the 100 block rise above two stories.

“We made quite a lot of changes,” Craig Otto, the project’s lead architect, said when addressing the board March 12.

The size of the building and the number of rooms didn’t change in the new proposal, but the look of the hotel was changed dramatically, with much darker stone on the outside and gas lanterns on the Main Street entrance to the bistro, which Otto noted is only one story and is shorter than the buildings around it. There will be a terrace above the restaurant, with a cover jutting out from the four-story portion of the building, to be set back from Main Street, and a steel or aluminum trellis covering a patio adjoining the restaurant.

The hotel, which won’t exceed the height allowed in downtown, will sit beside a new surface parking lot, which will also touch the sidewalk, with a covered main hotel entrance off to the side. When asked, Otto said they would happily comply with the town’s desire to see its aesthetic for street lighting downtown replicated with the lighting for the parking lot.

Otto also said there will be a small meeting pace in the hotel, large enough for about 40-50 people, which will be made available for the public to rent out.

While one resident spoke up during public comment to question whether the updates to the building would keep it from dominating its neighbors, a variety of local business owners, including several of those neighbors, voiced their support, as did a former Lexington mayor and the heads of both the Lexington and Greater Columbia chambers of commerce.

Matt O’Hara — co-owner and general manager of two businesses on the block, O’Hara’s Public House and the O’Hara’s Bakery Cafe — emphasized that his business chose to take over that cafe spot in large part because it would be right across the street from the hotel they heard was coming.

“The promise of that many people each night on Main Street is very exciting from our perspective,” he said.

Randy Halfacre, who previously served the town as mayor and the head of the Lexington Chamber, called the project “the missing link” to the hopes the municipality has had for its downtown.

“This is kind of the the anchor to downtown, to almost complete what we envisioned many years ago as the Town of Lexington Vision Plan,” he said. “I see no reason why you should not approve.”

Raj Champaneri, principal and owner of Lexington Hospitality, gave an opening statement, emphasizing his company’s roughly 30 years in Lexington and their success with hotels in the area.

“Over the years we’ve been approached by business leaders, community leaders and the town of Lexington to develop a hotel that will be able to cater food, beverage and meeting space,” he said. “The property has been vacant for about 15 years now. I think it’s time that we see some development. We’re very encouraged with what direction we’re going in with. Once the property is developed, we feel very confident that it’ll enhance the beauty of downtown Lexington.”

County Council also discussed the future of "tiny" homes with a vote for a revised proposal for zoning.

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LEXINGTON, S.C. — The Lexington County Council voted unanimously to approve its new rental assistance program, the home tenant-based rental assistance program. It’s designed to assist low-income households. It’s the first step in the process before low-income families will be able to put in an application.

“Sometimes people just need a little extra help and I think this is a good thing for them,” Lexington County Council member Glen Conwell said.

According to the County’s program guide, households will generally put 30 percent of their monthly income towards rent for approved apartments in Lexington County and the program will pay the rest.

“There’s a lot of people in need right now. You’ve got inflation a lot of priced stuff nothing ever keeps up with salaries right now,” Conwell said.

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The program will also assist with utilities, security deposits, and utility deposits. To qualify, you must be a us citizen, and have a household income that does not exceed 60 percent of the median income based on the number of occupants in a home.

Once a recipient is approved they can receive assistance for 12 months with a one year lease. Once that time has passed the recipient will need to recertify their income.

“It helps with your model income. It helps people to be able to afford something so they can basically get on their feet. I know this has child care options in it its really a great program to people that need help and assistance,” Conwell said.

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In addition to the rental assistance program, the council voted on its revised first-reading tiny homes zoning ordinance. Council members are looking to zone tiny homes the same way mobile homes are… to provide solid waste and emergency services. There will be continued discussions, revisions and another vote for the tiny home ordinance before a final approval.

The rental assistance program will now enter a public input period for 30 days before it is presented to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The County adds to hopes to open the applications for rental assistance by late April.

Attorney General Alan Wilson’s (center-right) along with his office’s Community Outreach Subcommittee (chaired by Lexington’s Pam Imm, center-left) launched the human trafficking education effort TraffickProofSC in July of last year.

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Posted Thursday, February 1, 2024 2:05 pm

emily@lexingtonchronicle.com

The state Attorney General's Office has released its annual 2023 Human Trafficking report, and Lexington County’s numbers are the fifth-highest in South Carolina.

The report highlights the five counties in S.C. with the highest volumes of human trafficking hotline calls. Greenville and Horry tied for the highest number, with Charleston in second, Richland and Spartanburg tied for third, Aiken in fourth and Lexington and Orangeburg counties tied for fifth.

The report is released annually in January, which is recognized nationally as Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The Attorney General's office released the report during a press conference on Columbia College’s campus Jan. 11, which is national Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

"Almost every victim never expects to be a victim until they are a victim,” state Attorney General Alan Wilson said. “Please don't assume your child is above being preyed upon or don't assume you're above being preyed upon.”

The state Law Enforcement Division had 357 open human trafficking cases in 2023, down from 440 the year prior.

Despite open cases being down, the number of people involved has only increased. Cases included 468 people total, 460 minors and 38 adults, compared to 416 total victims in 2022.

“Human trafficking doesn’t just happen to kids and it’s not like the movies,” said Pam Imm, chairperson of the Attorney General’s Office’s Community Outreach Subcommittee. She is also a community psychologist who works with LRADAC, the state-designated alcohol and drug abuse authority covering the counties of Lexington and Richland, and serves as board chair for Lexington’s Courage Center, the Midlands’ first recovery community organization supporting youth 14-26 struggling with substance abuse and their family members.

“My job is to help people understand what trafficking actually looks like.”

Not all human trafficking reports are in regard to sex trafficking, the report notes.

“The data also shows that while situations of suspected sex trafficking are being reported at a higher rate, the number of likely victims are higher for labor trafficking than sex trafficking,” the report states.

The state's human trafficking task force was mandated in 2012, and it includes multiple state agencies with more than 1,100 members receiving communications.

“A good model for what we're doing is we're increasing community awareness that can lead to community concern,” Imm said.

The task force breaks down into 12 subcommittees, an advisory council and 10 regional task forces.

The task force has received $1.2 million in recurring funds from the state General Assembly. During the press conference on Jan. 11, Wilson said he plans to ask for more than $10 million to open shelters and promote awareness campaigns.

“We intend to increase the number of shelters available to child human trafficking victims,” he said.

The report highlighted the task force’s various efforts, including the launch of TraffickProofSC, a statewide effort launched in July 2023. In partnership with SCETV Public Radio, the state started the series of free age-appropriate educational videos and curriculum designed for middle and high school students.

More than 3,000 backpacks with school supplies were given to students around the state to promote this initiative in July.

TraffickProofSC is the first state-wide trafficking prevention effort in S.C.

“TraffickProof is actually quite exciting,” Imm said. “It’s a big deal for the task force.”

The curriculum gives an overview on what human trafficking is, along with instruction in staying safe online and education on labor trafficking and sex trafficking.

The program is in the process of being piloted in a Richland County school, according to Imm.

“All the task forces, the regional task forces will continue to do some planning around community awareness, community concern and community action,” she said.

If you or someone you know is looking for help in the case of human trafficking, you can call the confidential National Human Trafficking hotline at (888) 373-7888.