"It's an asset for downtown," Diane Frankenberger told the Summerville Journal Scene. She was talking about the sale of her building at 129 W. Richardson Avenue to the art center next door. She is 82 and has run People, Places and Quilts in that building since 1990. She sold it to Public Works Art Center for $800,000, which the Journal Scene called far below market value. Then she kept her shop open there in a smaller space.
That sale is a good example of how downtown Summerville is changing this fall. The biggest changes in the historic core come from businesses and buildings that were already part of the town. A restaurant that has been in Summerville for 31 years moved in. A 1913 hardware building is getting a new use. Addresses on Short Central and Cedar Street have new businesses. From The Ponds, whose main entrance sits on US-17A just before the Dorchester Road intersection, all of it is a drive up 17A.
A 31-Year Summerville Restaurant Moved Downtown
Myles and Jun Yakitori started as a small restaurant with three tables. The Post and Courier calls it a 31-year Summerville institution. It served its last day at its longtime Bacons Bridge Road location on September 19 and reopened in a newly built space at 212 W. Fourth North Street on September 23.
The family could have moved anywhere in a town this size. They picked a newly built space a few blocks from Hutchinson Square. That puts one of Summerville's longest-running restaurants within walking distance of the square's events.
Current hours on the Myles and Jun Yakitori website are:
- Sunday, noon to 8:30 p.m.
- Monday through Thursday, 4 to 9 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.
The site also takes requests for private events and group dinners.
The Cauthen's Hardware Building Starts a New Era
Frankenberger's building has gone through several eras in its 113 years. 129 W. Richardson Avenue has stood since 1913. Its best-known era was as Cauthen's Hardware Store. Frankenberger bought it in 1989 and opened People, Places and Quilts in 1990. Public Works Art Center opened next door at 135 W. Richardson in 2020 as a free public art museum. By this year, the artisans renting studios downstairs had outgrown the building.
Public Works now calls the two buildings the Public Works Arts Campus. According to What's Up Summerville, the original building at 135 W. Richardson keeps the galleries, classrooms, and artist studios. The building at 129 adds the following:
- Artisan studios for makers who create handcrafted goods for sale
- A free community art table, sponsored this year by the Junior Service League of Summerville
- A music, performance, and gathering space developed with Community Music Collective
- A resource area for the South Carolina Arts Commission's Lowcountry Arts Hub, which serves artists, art teachers, and arts organizations across 10 counties
The Journal Scene reports that Public Works is the Arts Commission's first official arts hub in the Lowcountry. The commission will have three offices in the building, offer workshops, and run a lending library of tools like cameras and paper cutters. CEO Jana Riley said the hub will save area artists the trip to Columbia for those resources.
The renovation is keeping the building's history visible. The original 1913 floors were covered to protect them during construction. Much of the original wood and brick is being kept or reused. Cash registers from 1919 and other pieces from the building's past will go into a mini-museum. Frankenberger also gave the center newspaper clippings from the years when Elmore and Lila Gray Cauthen owned the store, and Riley said they will be framed and displayed.
The project is part of a $4 million capital campaign that covers the remaining mortgage on the current building, the land purchase, and the renovation. In its first seven months, the campaign raised $615,276.
The opening date is still uncertain. The Journal Scene's late-summer story projected late October. A September 1 update said Public Works was hoping for early November and that the timing could still move. In the meantime, the Public Works events page lists the SPARK exhibition through November 14 and an open mic on November 13 in the current building.
Familiar Addresses, New Businesses
The artisan studios at 129 W. Richardson are for people who make things to sell. Two small businesses have opened downtown since midsummer, one of them at an address that already had a following.
On Short Central, Seamus' Irish Pub took over 139 Central Ave. from O'Lacy's and officially opened July 17. The space is still a pub. The Journal Scene described the new owners as bringing tradition and live music.
Southern Surcees Collective at 123 S. Cedar St. is a multi-maker boutique, where many small businesses sell under one roof. Summerville DREAM featured it in September as a recent opening. Its grand-opening celebration is this Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Both follow the same pattern as the art center. Downtown is adding small, local businesses in existing storefronts, close to the restaurants and the square.
The Downtown Calendar Through December
The new businesses sit near Hutchinson Square, where most of the town's fall events take place. These are the dates currently on the Town of Summerville calendar:
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct. 15 | Third Thursday | 5 to 8:30 p.m. | Hutchinson Square |
| Saturday, Nov. 7 | Sweet Tea Half Marathon, 10K & 5K, 12th annual | 7 to 10:30 a.m. | Hutchinson Square |
| Thursday, Nov. 19 | Third Thursday | 5 to 8:30 p.m. | Hutchinson Square |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1 | Old Time Christmas Tree Celebration | 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Hutchinson Square |
| Sunday, Dec. 13 | Annual Christmas Parade | 2 to 4 p.m. | Downtown |
| Thursday, Dec. 17 | Third Thursday | 5 to 8:30 p.m. | Hutchinson Square |
Third Thursday is the town's monthly vendor fair on the square. A Third Thursday evening could include the square, a walk up Richardson Avenue, and dinner on W. Fourth North Street, all within a few blocks.
The town calendar lists Hutchinson Square as the location for the Sweet Tea race on the morning of Saturday, November 7.
What's Opening in Nexton This Fall
Nexton has also added businesses since summer. Its openings are mostly new concepts in new buildings, while downtown's come from businesses and buildings that were already there.
The Post and Courier reported that Poogan's Smokehouse was scheduled to reopen today, October 5, at 101 Nexton Square Drive after a rebrand and renovation. Dulce Churros Ice Cream + Cocktails was set to open September 2 at 1288 Nexton Parkway, according to Nexton's August announcement. The first Summerville Wine & Food Festival is October 17, 1 to 6 p.m., at The Pickle Bar on Cherry Street. Organizers hope to make it an annual fall event.
For a weekend that takes in both areas, the Wine & Food Festival on Saturday, October 17 falls two days after Third Thursday on the 15th.
Andrea knows downtown Summerville well, and she follows changes like the move at 212 W. Fourth North and the expansion at 129 W. Richardson. If you want to talk about your home in The Ponds, what it might be worth this season, or how Summerville is changing around it, Andrea Ulmer is glad to help. Request a free home valuation or consultation whenever it suits you.
