Fri, March 29, 2024

Retail

Consumer Stories

Where to find the holiday shopping magic

Editor’s note: I’m showing my age here but when my three sisters and I were growing up, the arrival of the Sears Wish Book was a highlight for us. It was 600+ pages of Christmas magic. We earmarked the pages of the gifts we hoped to receive. My how times have changed! In today’s world, producing a Sears catalog and mailing it to the masses would cost a fortune. There are a scant 13 Sears remaining today because of increased competition from other big-box retailers, so no need for a

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B2B Stories

New athleisure brand opens to the pickleball-loving public

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the CSRA and America. It’s easy to learn and fun to play. It’s a racquet sport and a cross between tennis, badminton, and ping pong, but played on a smaller court. Pickleball is also good for your health which is what brought brothers, Dan and Jon Lawson and David Pope together to form the athleisure company Good Get Apparel. Jon is a pulmonologist, Dan and David were in the technology side of healthcare. “We all understood the health benefits of playing pickleball,

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B2B Stories

New CSRA gift shop opens just in time for the holidays

A charming, southern house built almost 100 years ago has served as a real estate office, a salon, and an interior design shop. Now, another life has been breathed into the property at 1216 Whiskey Road in Aiken. Meadow Aiken is a family-owned shop that opened last month. The rooms of the home now feature an array of gifts and other home décor. “When we first saw it, we thought it was so beautiful we couldn’t stop thinking about it,” said owner, Nikki Mackenzie. “Yes, it was old and had

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B2B Stories

Simon Says: Is Halloween a trick or a treat?

When my children were younger, they loved Halloween. We live in a great trick-or-treat neighborhood which allowed them to collect a ton of candy. My wife still enjoys providing candy to the neighborhood kids on Halloween night. As an economist, I don’t understand Halloween. My wife goes and buys what to her is the best candy, usually a Mars or Hershey mix of chocolate such as Twix, Marathon, or Milky Way. We provide this to the neighborhood kids. When my own children went trick or treating, they would often come

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B2B Stories

Getting lit for your business or home

Getting lit takes on a whole different meaning, whether you are lighting up the outside of your home for a holiday or installing lights on your business which can tie into a marketing campaign. What started as a landscaping company in Texas in 1986, has evolved into franchises across the U.S. and Canada for a leading holiday decorating brand. That includes their location in Augusta at 1048 Franke Industrial Drive. “Our customers wanted holiday decorations, so what began as an offshoot from the landscaping side eventually grew into a business

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Consumer Stories

Retailers/Restaurants moving into “Final Cut” building

Big boxes are turning into small boxes. ABD confirmed that a hardware store, a Greek American restaurant, and another retailer will subdivide the former Final Cut store at 500 Furys Ferry Road in Martinez and be ready to open in the next several months. 2 Boys Pizza and Grill has been in the former Denny’s restaurant building at 3026 Washington Road for almost three years. They will be taking a 3,415 square feet space out of approximately 50,000 square feet that was once a BI-LO supermarket. 2 Boys will join

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Consumer Stories

Final Cut still isn’t announcing final closing date

It was a busy weekend for mostly ladies at Final Cut, sorting through 20% off sales on already marked-down women’s clothing starting at $5. If salesclerks knew when the next markdowns were or when the store would close in the former BI-LO, they would not say, while repeatedly getting asked at check-out. The 20% off sale has been in place since the going-out-of-business sale started. The other big seller was a BOGO deal on jewelry and does not allow you the additional 20% off. Ladies and men looked over higher-end

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Consumer Stories

Major Downtown Development News

The numbers are in from 2022 and the Augusta DDA says 47 more businesses opened in downtown Augusta vs. closed, while 11 additional businesses expanded their footprint in the Broad Street corridor. The DDA says it all resulted in $93.2 million in private investment within the commercial sector. Housing wise, the DDA is partnering with investors, developers, and commercial entities to increase the options available to workforces. The DDA says in 2022, 234 new units became available in downtown Augusta, and 176 more broke ground. This trend is moving forward

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Consumer Stories

Downtown businesses to participate in golf-themed retail crawl

Many people think downtown businesses are really busy during Masters Week, but that’s not the case, according to Jennifer Tinsley. Tinsley owns FIELD Botanicals located on 12th Street, one of 13 downtown businesses participating in a first-ever golf-themed shopping crawl next week called The 19th Hole. Businesses participating in the week-long event include Urban K9, Flowers on Broad, The Book Tavern, and Grantski Records. The crawl was created by Downtown Soul City, an organization that promotes businesses in that part of Augusta. “Our businesses are really slow during Masters week,”

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Consumer Stories

Downtown Aiken business promotion begins today

Every year, the Aiken Downtown Development Association hosts an event designed to promote businesses in that part of the city. This year, 25 businesses will participate in the Downtown Aiken Spring Sidewalk Sale, which begins today and lasts through Saturday, according to the Association’s Executive Director, Haley Knight. These businesses include Ginger Bee Boutique, 3 Monkeys Fine Gifts, Bravefriend Apparel & Design and TumbleWeed. Knight said shoppers will find a variety of items at the event, including clothing, embroidery, home décor, kitchen items, and equestrian products. “The purpose of the

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