Roofer in North Charleston, SC

A Texas pitmaster who brought his grilling chops and famed brisket to the upper peninsula a decade ago is heading further inland.

John Lewis — hot off the heels of earning a Bib Gourmand designation in Michelin's new American South guide for his namesake restaurant Lewis Barbecue — plans to be bring the meats, along with corn pudding and other side dishes, to a carnivorous clientele in Atlanta by the end of the year.

The concept’s third BBQ restaurant — including another in Greenville that opened in 2022 — will be in Ansley Mall, a 1960s-era shopping center northeast of midtown in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood.

Atlantans had an opportunity to sample the menu last month at a “Meat & Greet” with Lewis that was hosted by another tenant in the Georgia shopping center.

The pitmaster who was has appeared on Food Network shows like “Man Fire Food” and “Iron Chef Eats,” moved to Charleston from Austin in 2015. Lewis opened a weekly pop-up that was replaced by his Nassau Street restaurant in mid-2016 and expanded to the Upstate in 2022. He also owns Rancho Lewis in the Pacific Box & Crate development on King Street Extension.

A walk in the park

The Holy City’s next urban park is nearly ready for its closeup.

American Gardens will open to the public this weekend just north of the Gibbes Museum of Art on Meeting Street, more than 18 months after construction began.

Ben Navarro's Beemok Hospitality Collection, which owns The Charleston Place among other visitor-centric businesses, is behind the privately funded public gathering space that also will be used for private events.

The idea for a civic-minded reuse for the narrow 1.06-acre strip of land that runs between Meeting and King streets was brought back to life by Navarro, who bought the property from Dominion Energy in 2023 for $11.5 million. He sold a vacant historic office building that was part of that deal to the group that owns the Gibbes for $3 million earlier this year.

Beemok still plans to renovate an adjacent King Street structure and convert it into a to-go café reminiscent of New York City’s Central Park.

The locally based hospitality investment company was aiming to open the park, which, as its name suggests, has a patriotic streak running through it, before the nation's 250th birthday next year.

Mission accomplished.

Beach biz

It could be a hot dog stand, a boiled-peanut business, beach masseuse — or even a parasailing operation.

Folly Beach is exploring the idea of adding a vendor at the Third Block West beach access, where it hopes to lease space in the adjacent parking lot that already is equipped with bathrooms.

City Council recently voted unanimously to create a “concessions franchise” at the location, leaving the door open to a wide range of possibilities, separate from the existing surf camps and beach-gear rentals.

Council instructed staff to draft language that could accommodate many types of service businesses before seeking proposals, according to city administrator Aaron Pope.

The ordinance is expected to be voted on in December. It would allow the winning bidder to use three parking spaces and tap into power and water services. In Folly’s 52-year history as its own city, a vendor had previously sold boiled peanuts from that site in an unofficial capacity.

“We’re working on broad guidelines for selling beach-related items or providing services,” Pope said. “We are defining how much space we’re willing to give up at third West during high and low season and then put it out in the world.”

Once the language is finalized, the city will begin accepting bids and determine what kind of concession fits best.

“We want as many people as possible to bid,” Pope said. “Everybody loves food, but it creates waste. Everyone likes services, but that’s commercializing the beach — so who knows?”

Chasing a record

As demand for Boeing Co.’s 787 continues to grow, the North Charleston-based aircraft program is climbing closer to its all-time annual record.

The planemaker said Nov. 11 that it booked orders of 320 Dreamliners through Oct. 31. They include seven deals with unidentified buyers that joined the official backlog of 993 jets last month.

That puts the company within 40 of its 2007 peak of 360 orders for the wide-body.

Boeing will likely narrow the gap when it provides its next monthly update. Uzbekistan Air converted purchase options for eight 787s to firm orders on Nov. 6.

It remains to be seen whether two other new deals, also announced last week, for 19 Dreamliners will finalized by Dec. 31. If so, they’d put the program within 13 of a record that’s stood for 18 years.

The most recent orders and other deals were announced hours before Boeing broke ground on a $1 billion, 1,000-job expansion for its South Carolina operations. The investment will enable the company to double its 787 production rate by about 2028.

Startup central

South Carolina has earned high marks on an new government analysis of places where new businesses thrive

A recent study from the U.S. Census Bureau that identified states with the highest startup growth rates found that seven of the top 10 locations are in the South. Since 2010, South Carolina has had the highest average within the Southeast region.

Wyoming, the nation's least-populous state, overall saw the highest concentration of growth with 50.6 percent over the last 15 years. South Carolina followed with 16.1 percent. New Mexico, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida were next.

Census collected data on business applications, noting an explosion in that category since the pandemic. It also measured Bureau of Labor Statistics data on wages.

SCbio, a statewide economic development organization that promotes the life-sciences industry, celebrated the ranking on LinkedIn.

Megan Fernandes, Teri Errico Griffis, Jenny Peterson and John McDermott contributed to this report.

Children interacting with community partners at 2024 "Safety Town" (provided)

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — This weekend, MUSC Children’s Health is teaming up with local first responders to keep kids safe and have some fun while doing it.

The event, called “Safety Town,” is free for the community and part of a national effort to raise awareness about childhood injuries, one of the leading causes of death among children across the country. It also comes ahead of National Injury Prevention Day, recognized nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

On Saturday, Nov. 15, children in Charleston will get the chance to hop on a tricycle and ride through a miniature city, complete with a fire station, police department, school, and hospital. Along the way, they’ll learn about safety and meet the community partners who help keep families safe every day.

“It just helps us kind of shine a light on the injury prevention work that we do,” said Mary Beth Vassy, MUSC Health Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention coordinator. “But also how important it is to make sure that we are talking with families and trying to work with them to prevent injuries in our communities for our children.”

Vassy says the event highlights a serious issue seen often inside MUSC’s trauma center.

“We see preventable injuries come into our trauma center all the time,” she said. “Oftentimes they do have to do with bicycle accidents, car wrecks, things like that. So this day is really important for us, especially because we are a member site of the organization that founded National Injury Prevention Day, which is the Injury Free Coalition for Kids. So we really like to highlight this day as a member organization, but also because we know that this is affecting our community.”

The event – hosted by MUSC Children’s Health, the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, and Safe Kids Charleston Area – will also include local first responders and community partners who’ll talk with families about their roles in keeping kids safe.

“We have community partners who kind of represent each of the places in Safety Town, so they can talk to the kids more in depth about what their roles are and kind of what that looks like in their specific area,” Vassy explained.

READ MORE | "Charleston officials prioritize pedestrian safety with traffic area DUI checkpoints plan."

From bike safety to everyday decision-making, the goal is to give kids practical tools for staying safe.

“We’re hoping that kids and families just kind of get a better understanding of how to keep themselves safe in different ways around the community,” Vassy said. “We’re also hoping that we can provide bike helmets to some kids who need them, because we know that oftentimes we have kids who are injured on bicycles that come into our hospital that didn’t have helmets on.”

The event will also feature free bike helmets, face painting, local mascots, and plenty of hands-on learning.

“We do have the free bike helmets, we have free face painting,” Vassy added. “We also have some appearances by some local mascots, which will be exciting — along with just some other great community resources that are available.”

“Safety Town” takes place Saturday, Nov. 15, at the North Charleston Athletic Complex at 1455 Monitor St., North Charleston, SC 29405, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It’s free and open to everyone, though registration in advance is encouraged.

Anyone interested in attending should email [email protected].

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing broke ground on Nov. 7, 2025, in North Charleston, S.C., to mark the start of its Boeing South Carolina (BSC) site expansion.

Home of the company's 787 Dreamliner program, BSC is set to increase production to a rate of 10 airplanes per month in 2026.

Late last year, Boeing announced plans to expand and upgrade the site near Charleston International Airport (CHS) and add a second campus.

Greenville Business Magazine reported Nov. 10 that Boeing is investing more than $1 billion in this infrastructure effort and plans to create more than 1,000 new jobs over the next five years.

When completed, the larger facility will include:

• A new final assembly building that is similar in size to the current final assembly structure, which encompasses roughly 1.2 million sq. ft., along with airplane production positions, production support and office space.

• A parts preparation facility, a vertical fin paint shop, Flight Line stalls and other production areas at the airport campus.

• Additions to the Boeing Interiors Responsibility Center, where many of the 787's interior components are made.

Expansion Needed to Keep Up With Demand

So far, 90 customers from around the world have placed more than 2,250 orders for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner family, making it the best-selling widebody passenger airplane of all time.

After more than 1,200 deliveries, the 787 backlog stands at nearly 1,000 airplanes, including more than 300 orders added just this year.

In all, the commercial aviation industry is expected to need more than 7,800 new widebody airplanes over the next two decades, according to Boeing's Commercial Market Outlook.

"We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its market-leading efficiency and versatility," said Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are making this significant investment today to ensure Boeing is ready to meet our customer's needs in the years and decades ahead.

"This site expansion is a testament to the incredible work of our Boeing teammates and deepens our commitment to them, to South Carolina and to American manufacturing," she added in a company news release.

For more than a decade, BSC in North Charleston has been the home of the full 787 Dreamliner production cycle. There, the Boeing factory's teams fabricate, assemble and deliver the company's three Dreamliner models — the 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 — to customers around the world.

Boeing first established its Palmetto State operations in 2009 and today employs more than 8,200 people across its campuses in North Charleston and in Orangeburg, south of Columbia.

"Boeing's continued investment in South Carolina is a tremendous vote of confidence in our state's people and business climate," South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster noted in the news release. "This $1 billion expansion and the creation of 1,000 new jobs will strengthen our position as a global leader in aerospace and advanced manufacturing."

In addition, McMaster said, "We are grateful for Boeing's partnership and commitment to the Lowcountry, which will bring new opportunities and economic prosperity across our state."

Boeing officials project that the building effort will employ more than 2,500 people working a total of more than 6.2 million construction hours through the joint venture of Charleston's HITT Contracting and BE&K Building Group, based in Morrisville, N.C. in that state's Research Triangle Park.

HITT Contracting is a top national commercial construction firm with offices in 14 U.S. markets; and BE&K Building Group is recognized as a leading national design-build and construction management firm specializing in aviation and aerospace construction.

Officials with the airplane maker said they feel confident that the joint venture, along with that of BRPH, a Charleston architectural and engineering firm, will deliver the infrastructure upgrades for the Boeing 787 factory expansion on time and within budget.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Many federal workers are missing their second paycheck as the government shutdown comes to an end, prompting community organizations across the Lowcountry to organize food drives for affected families.

The North Charleston Community Resource Center and Charleston Labor Council are leading efforts to provide care packages filled with chicken, fresh fruits, vegetables, bread and nonperishables for federal workers who continue working without pay.

“We’re getting phone calls and phone calls and emails after emails. A federal worker saying, ‘I don’t have. I don’t know where to turn to,’” April Lott, the Charleston Labor Council president, said.

Organizations are gathering food donations by the truckload as federal workers struggle to keep up with grocery bills while they have been maintaining their duties at locations like the airport.

Food banks are already stretched thin because of the lapse in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Banks across the Lowcountry are looking to ease as much food and financial uncertainty as much as they can.

Organizations wanted to create something specifically for federal workers, Lott said.

“A lot of food banks are stretched thin with the loss of SNAP benefits as well. But we wanted to do something just for our federal workers to let them know that their community supports them as they support us,” Lott said.

The Charleston Labor Council has held previous food drives with lines wrapped around the building to help those impacted by the loss of SNAP benefits. Based on calls and emails alone, Lott expects between 500 and 600 federal workers to seek assistance.

Residents can donate food at the Community Resource Center until the end of the day Thursday. Volunteers can help distribute food starting Friday at noon.

Federal workers seeking assistance should bring their personal verification card and be ready to line up by 4 p.m. Friday when doors open for distribution. The Community Resource Center hopes they can help every worker who lines up, but will keep their doors open until every box is gone.

“It’s been mentally crushing for a lot of people, but we remember what we do and we remember that we’re here to help the public and that’s why you have federal workers that show up every day to do the work,” Lott said. “Yes, sadly come paycheck there’s nothing there, but this is the community’s opportunity.”

Government workers are not all immediately set to receive pay or backpay; as federal operations slowly return to normal, officials say payments will be rolled out. The timeline depends on the agency.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Boeing has begun a $1 billion expansion of its 787 Dreamliner facilities in North Charleston, South Carolina, as it prepares to raise production to 10 aircraft per month in 2026.

The site, which handles fabrication, final assembly, and delivery of all Dreamliner variants, will gain a second 1.2 million-square-foot final assembly building, new support facilities, and additional flight line capacity.

Boeing said the project will create around 1,000 new jobs over five years and employ 2,500 construction workers during the build phase. The work is managed by HITT Contracting and BE&K Building Group.

Expanding South Carolina operations

The expansion will extend across Boeing’s main campus near Charleston International Airport and a second site in the region. The company plans to build:

Boeing currently employs more than 8,200 people in South Carolina across North Charleston and Orangeburg, where it manufactures and assembles major 787 structures, including the aft and mid-fuselage sections. The first Dreamliner built in South Carolina rolled out in 2012.

Driven by strong demand

Boeing has delivered more than 1,200 Dreamliners to date and holds nearly 1,000 unfilled orders. The company expects long-haul travel recovery to sustain demand for the widebody family, which has received over 2,250 orders from around 90 customers.

“We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its efficiency and versatility,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope, calling the project a renewed commitment to South Carolina’s aerospace sector.

The groundbreaking was attended by state and federal officials, including Governor Henry McMaster and Senator Lindsey Graham, who called the expansion a “vote of confidence” in the local workforce.

The project forms part of Boeing’s wider plan to ramp up 787 output while restoring stability to its widebody programs. Once complete, the site will support sustained higher production rates and greater flexibility across the 787 line.