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Consumer Stories
Consumer Stories

Restaurateur Changes Business Model

If you were going to satisfy your BBQ fix this weekend at Ironhead in North Augusta, you’ll need to pick a different restaurant. Owner Kurt Mueller posted news of his closing at 340 Edgefield Road on his Ironhead BBQ Facebook page, where there were about 100 comments in 24 hours. He candidly mentioned that the brick-and-mortar part of his business was no longer financially viable. Mueller tried to avoid this fate by recently operating on a more efficient level.  Ironhead reduced hours at the restaurant to Thursdays to Sundays for

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Neil Gordon June 12, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

After nearly 40 years, CSRA staffing company changes hands

A long-time sales and business development executive was interested in business ownership.  A 37-year Augusta business owner was interested in retiring.  Much like the staffing business, a perfect match happened. Since 1989, Angela Swarts has been the franchisee of Spherion Staffing and Recruiting, winning the 2024 Franchisee of the Year award—amongst 200 fellow franchisees.  She’s staying on for a period of time as new franchisee Joe Schiavone takes over. The office’s experienced internal staff will remain in place under Schiavone’s leadership. “What stood out most to me throughout this process

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Neil Gordon June 11, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

The Growing Pressure of Pharmacy Costs: What Augusta Employers Need to Know

Across Augusta and throughout the country, employers are running into several common pharmacy-related challenges. Pharmacy costs have quietly become one of the fastest-growing expenses for employers, and for many organizations, one of the least understood areas of healthcare spending.  What was once viewed as a relatively manageable portion of the health plan has evolved into a major financial pressure point for businesses of all sizes. Today, prescription drugs can account for anywhere from 25% to 40% of total healthcare costs for employer-sponsored plans, and that number continues to climb. Unlike

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Nick Wimpey, PharmD, The Pennant Group | Pharmacist & Pharmacy Benefit Strategist June 9, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Local banking legend part of big changes

Phil Wahl’s had just about every job in the financial space in his storied 40-year career at local and national banks in the CSRA. Next month, he’ll add a new title at Security Federal Bank. There are 19 full-service Security Federal locations on both sides of the Savannah River. Wahl’s been President for nearly seven years. Soon, he’ll also be Chief Executive Officer, joining the Board of Directors. Current CEO J. Chris Verenes will be retiring, but remains as Chairman and as a board member. Security Federal announced a few

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Neil Gordon June 8, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Preparing CSRA students for a career in technology

Teachers from across Georgia and South Carolina committed a week of summer vacation to learn how to best prepare their students for future careers. The Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC) campus hosted a weeklong series of classes and workshops providing a classroom-ready cybersecurity curriculum. “The goal of it is to help teachers who are teaching subjects related to cyber and IT, computer science, networking, all of these other subjects,” Danny Etheredge, Director of Training & Workforce Development at GCITC, told ABD. “Help them to start building a community

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Dana Lynn McIntyre June 8, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Tomorrow’s a huge day for CSRA business

Some might call a block party on Sat., June 6, a bit of a heavy lift.  For the organization expanding into a new location— it’s no sweat! Tomorrow marks the grand opening of the Family YMCA of Greater Augusta’s new, state-of-the-art facility in North Augusta. It will be at their new location at 406 E. Martintown Road.  “With this space, we can really accommodate this community, including almost double the childcare space, because our community loves growing their families, and that’s been a struggle for us to really support the

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Dana Lynn McIntyre June 5, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Have a cup of joe to help young folks in transition

Sometimes, a good cup of coffee can bring friends and even competitors together. If you’re a coffee connoisseur, chances are you’ve supported some local cafes of a new coffee collective.  You’re invited to a special event the collective is hosting this Saturday. The group is the Augusta Coffee Collective, started by five local specialty coffee shops: Buona Caffe, headquartered on Central Avenue, Cavaliers in North Augusta, Commander in Downtown Augusta, Goat Kick in Evans, and Trellis on Walton Way.  The collective has met almost monthly since September 2025 to support

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Neil Gordon June 3, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Data center pros and cons in CSRA

Will Williams, President and CEO of Western SC, has three data center projects under construction in Aiken County. He has a few lessons learned he can share with his colleagues in other CSRA counties, ready to dive into the deep end of the data waters. In Aiken County, the Meta facility being built in the Sage Mill Industrial Park is the largest of three data centers under construction in Aiken County. Williams said a solar field in Orangeburg County will help power the Meta center. “Aiken Electric is the provider,

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Dana Lynn McIntyre June 3, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

420 Metro Augusta employers noticed by safety regulators

Aurubis Richmond and Nemak (formerly AGF Casting) have a lot in common: Both are in the smelting business. Both are neighbors in the Augusta Corporate Park, and both are leading the way in the hiring of workplace safety managers in the CSRA. Efforts from those manufacturers and other industries caught the attention of a national safety regulator. Researchers at Trace One analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics series. Metro Augusta ranked #7 amongst mid-market cities in the United States.

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Neil Gordon June 1, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Your guide to buying CSRA land this time of year

No one knows the local land landscape better than the DeFoor family, based in Appling and covering the CSRA.  Christie DeFoor has information on why now is a good time to buy, along with key day-to-day considerations, and a buyer’s checklist.

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Christie DeFoor May 29, 2026 No Comments
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