The Market Report

Publix Super Markets Opened: unknown Previous Tenants:  none Location:  1575 Old Trolley Rd, Oakbrook, Summerville, SC Photographed:  January 2022 We're just two miles east of yesterday's Walmart Neighborhood Market for a 48,700 square foot Publix. Although there are quite a few Publixes in the Charleston area, we aren't actually going to tour any of them although we'll see a couple more before we leave the Mid-Atlantic region. I'm not familiar with the history of Publix in the SC region. From Wikipedia , it looks like they entered South Carolina fairly early (their first store outside Florida, in Savannah, GA opened in 1991 and their first SC store opened two years later). The chain is way  larger than I thought it was, with an astounding 1200 locations, over 800 of which are in Florida. Gee, I should do more research before I start writing. Anyway, tomorrow we move onto another chain that I don't know too well but that has locations around the area. We'll...

Walmart Neighborhood Market Opened:  2015 Previous Tenants:  none Location:  10635 Dorchester Rd, Ashborough East, Summerville, SC Photographed:  January 2022 Today's snapshot is a quick look at a 41,000 square foot Walmart Neighborhood Market in the southern part of Summerville. It was built from the ground up in 2015. Now, to this day, I have yet to step foot in a Walmart Neighborhood Market. Anyone who has been to one, what do you think? Is it a pleasant shopping experience? How does the selection compare to mainstream chain supermarkets? By the way, we're just about 3 miles from a Walmart Supercenter. And we're moving tomorrow to the east for a Publix in the Oakbrook part of Summerville!

Original Tenant: Bi-Lo Address: 1450 Boone Hill Rd, Summerville, SC Opened:  1978 Closed:  2018 Later Tenants:  vacant Photographed:  January 2022 Here's a look at a nicely-preserved closed Bi-Lo, which closed back in 2018, just outside of Summerville. The 47,000 square foot store has been vacant since it closed, and is available for lease . There's no supermarkets immediately around here, but there is a Harris Teeter and two Food Lions between here and downtown Summerville, plus a Publix and a Walmart Neighborhood Market to the north. To the south, there's also another Publix and another Walmart Neighborhood Market, which will be our next stops. Check them out on The Market Report !

Original Tenant: unknown Address: 208 N Main St, Summerville, SC Opened:  unknown Closed:  unknown Later Tenants:  subdivided Photographed:  January 2022 Our second stop in downtown Summerville is just south of yesterday's Piggly Wiggly . This roughly 14,000 square foot building was almost definitely previously a grocery store, although I'm not sure what. The antique store that takes up the left half of this building has most of their sales floor actually in what I assume was the grocery store's backroom, although I couldn't get a good picture really showing it. But there's pretty clear separate rooms, such as what might be breakrooms, and even what appears to be a walk-in cooler that's been repurposed for antiques. A thought: since yesterday's Piggly Wiggly was so much like a Food Lion, was that built as a Food Lion while the Piggly Wiggly was originally here? This building looks a fair amount like a supermarket of the age Mr. K's Piggly Wiggly would...

Piggly Wiggly Owner: David Smith Opened:  2019 under current ownership; 1982 as Mr. K's Piggly Wiggly Previous Tenants:  none Location:  404 N Cedar St, Summerville, SC Photographed:  January 2022 Welcome to the Charleston area, and welcome to Summerville! This town of 50,000 people was a favorite summer destination of residents of Charleston prior to air conditioning because of its cooler, inland location (we're about 23 miles northwest of downtown Charleston) and is said to have healthy air and a good environment for breathing. It also has, at the north end of downtown, a 28,000 square foot Piggly Wiggly! Until 2019, it was owned by the Kersting family, when it was sold to the current owner David Smith. There was also another Piggly Wiggly in town at 10048 Dorchester Rd, a strip mall now home to a Lowes Foods. Beyond knowing that the store opened in 1982, I don't know much about this store's history. The one thing that does hit me very strongly -- even from the...