Downtown getting Uptown gift shop
Columbia, SC — Uptown, a new business specializing in personalized gifts, is locating on Main Street in the old Capitol News stand location near Gervais Street.
A Dunkin Donuts franchise is also to open next door in the old Capitol Cafe storefront.
The gift shop is the type of business identified as lacking in a recent retail study commissioned by City Center Partnership.
“It’s a business that is going to appeal to the downtown worker, but will also appeal to the tourist market,” said Amy Stone, the partnership’s retail recruiter. “Being near the State House, a lot of people walk by there.”
The announcements are more good news for Main, which recently saw the ribbon cutting for the boutique Sheraton Hotel at Lady Street and groundbreaking for the 17-story Main & Gervais office tower.
The gift shop is also a boost to retail on Main, which has suffered setbacks because of years of disruptive streetscaping projects and the departure of landmark businesses such as Lourie’s. It is also a bright spot in the wake of SCANA’s announcement that the utility would move to Cayce.
