Openings

Consumer Stories

First boba tea franchise of it’s kind coming soon to the CSRA

A local plastic surgeon and his business partner are about to open the first Georgia location of a California-based boba tea company. By the end of May, Dr. Troy Austin, owner of Southeastern Aesthetic Surgery, and his girlfriend, Skyler Byrd plan to open a Teaspoon franchise at 623 Mullins Colony Drive, next to Crumbl Cookies in Evans. Founded in 2015, the company serves hand-crafted teas in a variety of refreshing flavors, including Caramel Cream, Guava Sunset, and Mango on Fire, as well as rotating seasonal flavors. “About a year and

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Consumer Stories

New CSRA car wash opens with FREE car washes

We are in the pollening season. What better time to open a car wash business? Last week, a new North Augusta car wash tested its equipment, and for three days, gave each customer a free wash, according to Christian Wahl. On Wednesday, Wahl and his business partner, Brannon Graybill opened Moby’s Car Wash, located at 421 East Martintown Road near Publix. They offered free washes through Friday. “We had a bunch of folks,” he said. Wahl and Graybill, local real estate developers, chose the location because it’s underserved. He said

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Consumer Stories

Local esthetician moves spa to new location

Last summer, Courtney Stokes announced her beauty spa was leaving its location in Martinez. In January, Stokes began serving her clients in a popular Evans retail center. Stokes, a licensed esthetician, owns SUEDE Beauty Bar + Spa located at 609 Ponder Place, Suite A off North Belair Road. Her previous location was at 101 Maple Drive, Suite 5 next door to Salon Thirty Seven. SUEDE offers a variety of services, including facials, chemical peels, and scalp therapy. Other businesses in that center include HireQuest, Harmonie Medical, and the JANUS Research

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B2B Stories

Local Chick-fil-A franchise owners to open second location

Next year, Jon and Rachel Dawkins will make it more convenient for people living and working near I-20, Exit 5 to Eat Mor Chikin. The couple has owned and operated the North Augusta Chick-fil-A location at 1267 Knox Ave. for almost 20 years, but they recently announced their plans to open a second location next to Wendy’s at the corner of Edgefield Road and Walnut Lane. “We’ve been working towards that for a long time,” Jon said. “It’s something we wanted to do to serve our community.” He said it’s

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Consumer Stories

New Dollar General location in CSRA to replace former Chinese restaurant

A year ago, a Harlem Chinese restaurant was destroyed in a fire, but a retail chain with more than 19,000 stores throughout the U.S. is building a new location in its place. Construction is underway on a new Dollar General store on the site that was formerly occupied by China One, which was located next door to Smith Farm Supply at 170 East Milledgeville Road. Harlem currently has two stores: one is located down the street at 601 West Milledgeville Road, and the other is at 863 Louisville Road near

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Consumer Stories

CSRA personal trainer helps clients break chains and achieve better fitness

Brian Lynce wants his clients to understand they don’t have to be bodybuilders to reap the benefits of regular exercise. Lynce owns Breaking Chains Fitness, a personal training business located at 6690 Swint Combs Road in Harlem. He offers individual and small-group training, as well as high-intensity interval training classes, in a building located just outside of his home. Lynce celebrated its soft opening in Oct. 2022 and plans to hold the grand opening at the end of May. “I’m certified in personal training and corrective exercise,” he said. Corrective

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Consumer Stories

Evans nutrition business to celebrate grand opening

Michelle Lemmons opened her Columbia County nutrition business in July 2022, but she’s celebrating the grand opening of that business this weekend. Lemmons owns The Vibe Nutrition located at 4446 Washington Road, Suite 6, near Shane’s Rib Shack in Evans. The business offers a variety of meal replacement shakes, fat-burning teas, protein coffees, and workout supplements. Her shake flavors include salted caramel, Almond Joy, and Captain Crunch, and all contain protein, vitamins, minerals, and greens. The grand opening will be held Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and include

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Consumer Stories

New coffee shop opens near Meybohm retail center, other tenants coming soon

The closing of two Evans restaurants last year created vacancies in the Plaza at Evans Towne Center, but Meybohm Commercial Properties is working to fill those vacancies, according to Jordan Collier. ABD contacted Collier, the company’s director of commercial development, for an update on the center located in front of the Columbia County Performing Arts Center at 7025 Evans Town Center Blvd. He specifically addressed the units formerly occupied by Roll On In, a sushi restaurant, and Stay. Social Tap + Table. “We have fully negotiated and executed a lease

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Openings

First vegan/vegetarian restaurant opens in Aiken

After starting nine different restaurants over the years from Colorado to South Carolina, when Andrew Kraull moved to Aiken a year ago, he circled back around to his roots with a place offering a mostly plant-based menu. He has a master’s degree in nutrition and recently opened the Veg Out Café at 1619 Whiskey Road. “At first, I had a food truck but based on the popularity of vegan and vegetarian dishes, I knew a brick-and-mortar was what we really needed. I stumbled across the health food store that was

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Consumer Stories

HobbyTown owner to relocate to larger retail space

Prior to becoming a business owner, Dusty Germo worked as an engineer at John Deere for 12 years and pursued various hobbies in his spare time, but he now helps his customers enjoy their hobbies. Since July 2022, Germo has owned the Augusta franchise location of HobbyTown, which is located near Furniture Outlet at 266 Bobby Jones Expressway, Suite 110 in Augusta. The 3,000-square-foot store has been open since 1993. He’s moving the business to a 9,000-square-foot building, which is currently under construction at 4107 Riverwatch Parkway, Suite 4 at

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