Around the Lowcountry
Local stories worth knowing.
Business spotlights, new openings, what is coming soon and guides to getting the most out of Greater Charleston.
Around the LowcountryLillian's founder Heather Greene picked for the first national Restaurant Academy classHeather Greene, founder of Lillian's Petite Market & Eatery on Charleston's Westside, was selected for the inaugural Restaurant Academy, a six-month leadership program running September 2026 through March 2027 with roughly 30 restaurant leaders nationwide. The program comes from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation with American Express and Resy, and covers team building, guest experience and financial fluency. Participants work with James Beard winners Mashama Bailey, GregSeptember 30, 2026 · 1 min read
Around the LowcountryGoogle's September spam update shook rankings over the weekend and is only half doneGoogle announced the September 2026 spam update on Thursday, September 24, saying it applies globally and to all languages with a rollout of up to two weeks. Search Engine Roundtable reported on September 28 that the first stage landed hard starting Friday, September 25, with more movement Saturday and settling Sunday. Volatility showed across thirteen tracking tools including Semrush, Mozcast, Sistrix and Algoroo. Roughly one week of rollout remains.September 30, 2026 · 1 min read
Around the LowcountryMoncks Corner may get a second Food LionA permit filed in late August shows Food Lion planning a 37,000-square-foot store at Highway 17A and Black Tom Road in Moncks Corner, which would be the company's second location in town. Rezoning was approved in April 2025, and parent company Ahold Delhaize operates 176 stores in South Carolina.September 30, 2026 · 1 min read
Around the LowcountryHuntington Bank opens first standalone Mount Pleasant branchHuntington Bank held a ribbon cutting on the morning of September 28 at 3149 N. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant, its first freestanding branch in the town. The branch has actually been serving customers since August 31. Trent Holland, regional president for the Carolinas, and Jennifer Schuchart, Charleston marketing president, attended.September 30, 2026 · 1 min readNew & NoteworthyNew Lowcountry Impact Fund puts $250,000 into the Harbor Entrepreneur CenterThe Lowcountry Impact Fund launched with an initial $250,000 investment in The Harbor Entrepreneur Center. The fund was created by co-founders Alex Opoulos and Pete Sniderman and is sponsored by Abundance Capital, a nonprofit donor advised fund sponsor. The money is structured as a repayable investment rather than a grant, so it returns to the fund and gets redeployed. The Harbor will use it to expand programming and affordable office space for the more than 130 companies it works with.September 29, 2026 · 1 min read
Around the LowcountryBay Street Biergarten is opening a second location at West Ashley CircleBay Street Biergarten will open a second location at 3955-3961 W Ashley Circle, targeting spring 2027. Partner Greg Pierdon confirmed the plan. The West Ashley build will have elevated seating in the dining area, a large indoor bar and a covered patio with outdoor seating, and the menu will mirror the original at 549 East Bay Street downtown.September 29, 2026 · 1 min read
Around the Lowcountry348 units open at Brooking Square on the Cainhoy peninsulaBrooking Square is now leasing at 1014 Waterline St. in Point Hope, on the Cainhoy peninsula in Berkeley County. Woodfield Development and Simpson Housing built 348 apartments and townhomes in one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, with a saltwater pool, pickleball courts, outdoor lounges, an activity lawn, a fitness club, a business lounge, a dog park and a pet spa. CF Evans Construction was the general contractor and Housing Studio the architect. Allstate and Allstate Financial Services and WanSeptember 29, 2026 · 1 min readAround the LowcountryHuntington Bank taking the old TGI Fridays space at Mount Pleasant Towne CentreHuntington Bank will open a full service branch at 1835 North Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre this fall, in the former TGI Fridays building. The branch includes a Wealth Hub for wealth management services. It will be Huntington's seventh full service branch in South Carolina and its fifth in the Lowcountry, following openings on King Street in 2025, Summerville in July 2026, North Mount Pleasant in August 2026 and West Ashley in September 2026.September 29, 2026 · 1 min readNow OpenRevolving Sushi Kingdom is now open at Mount Pleasant Towne CentreRevolving Sushi Kingdom opened at Mount Pleasant Towne Centre with a soft opening on September 21 and a grand opening on September 28. The restaurant runs a conveyor belt of small plates alongside iPad ordering for larger dishes, with food delivered on animal shaped trains. The menu lists more than 100 items including sashimi, tempura, ramen, nigiri, hand rolled sushi and dumplings. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.September 28, 2026 · 1 min readAround the LowcountryJudge signs off on settlement that sends the 657 King Street hotel back to the drawing boardCircuit Court Judge Dale Van Slambrook approved a mediated settlement resolving Historic Charleston Foundation's challenge to the city's approval of a hotel at 657 King Street that exceeded height limits on a split zoned property. Under the settlement the hotel will be redesigned, with a new architectural firm brought in to lead the work. The project moves forward in modified form rather than being blocked.September 28, 2026 · 1 min readAround the LowcountryYou get four days to reject a stranger's edit to your Google Business ProfileGoogle updated its help documentation to spell out the window business owners have on user suggested edits. Once notified, an owner has four days to accept or reject the suggestion. If nobody responds in that window, Google may publish the edit automatically when other public information, such as the business website, supports it. Google may also apply some edits with no notification at all when they comply with its guidelines.September 28, 2026 · 1 min readLocal Guide6 Things To Do Around Charleston This Weekend: September 25–27Festivals, markets, live music and more across the Lowcountry, September 25–27.September 22, 2026 · 1 min read