Capital City Progress is a weekly column that focuses on business, growth and development news in the Columbia area. It is written by Post and Courier Columbia business reporter Hannah Wade.
COLUMBIA — "Hey, this is Hannah Wade. I'm a reporter with the Free Times and I was calling..." is how I've started most of the many voicemails I've left over the last two years of writing about Columbia's food and dining scene for Free Times.
It's bittersweet to say that after two years of working as the food writer for Free Times, I'm transitioning over to cover business, growth and development for The Post and Courier Columbia.
During my tenure at Free Times, I found that I loved writing about all of the places where food intersects with other parts of life. I've looked outside of just the cuisine itself to find connections to business, health and humanity. I plan to do the same in this new role.
I hope to make planning commission meetings, economic development information and incoming retail business news accessible and easy to understand, while providing context about why this news matters and how it could affect you.
In my short time here, I've seen how Columbia has changed and grown. We've lost countless iconic restaurants and bars — The Whig, Yesterdays and, just reported yesterday, Rockaway Athletic Club — while new development has moved in. The skyline changes with each year, hotels and student housing dominate thoroughfares. Throughout it all, the city grapples with maintaining its identity while growing in population and opportunities.
That's what I hope to focus on in my reporting. Each week, I'll use this column as an opportunity to dive into a specific issue or update you on a smaller, but still important, development in Columbia.
But, I want to hear from you. What issues are important to you? What development news excites you, or worries you? Where do you think Columbia is headed next? You can reach me at hwade@postandcourier.com or you can find me on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahwade2000.
Other business news you might've missed:
New Lowes Foods opening in Lexington: At the corner of Platt Springs Road and South Lake Drive in Lexington, a new Lowes Foods is set to open, the company announced via press release Dec. 17. The regional grocery store will open in an area that already has a Publix and Aldi. It's near an upcoming 60-acre mixed-use development that was announced in 2023 and is expected to bring housing and retail options to the growing area. An opening date has not been set, according to the release.
Latest Clutch Coffee location: The regional drive-thru coffee chain, Clutch Coffee, is set to open another Columbia location at 9349 Two Notch Road at the beginning of February. The coffee shop plans to hand out free coffee all day when it officially opens Feb. 3.
Rockaway's to close after being sold: Rockaway Athletic Club, the iconic Rosewood watering hole, will close its doors after more than four decades in business, Free Times reported Jan. 17. The building was sold to Cason Development Group, a real estate company that's had a hand in projects like The War Mouth, Moctezuma's Mexican Restaurant on Beltline Boulevard and a handful of chain restaurant deals. The group's president, Frank Cason, told a Free Times reporter that the building's future is still being finalized, but that the sale from Rockaway's original owners to the development company was finalized Jan. 16. The last day in business is Jan. 21, according to staff at the restaurant.
Scout Motors gets go-ahead from federal regulators: Scout Motors, the $2 billion electric vehicle plant being built in Blythewood, got the green light to continue construction from federal regulators Jan. 12. The Volkswagen subsidiary agreed to preserve nearly 5,000 acres of wetlands, gaining a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue construction. Work on the site is expected to "resume shortly," according to a joint statement from S.C. Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey and Richland County Economic Development Director Jeff Ruble.
