COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Tuesday, Columbia City Council's Community Development Committee discussed a stimulus program to encourage grocery stores in communities in need.
“Sometimes you don’t know what the day is gonna bring,” Uncle Willie’s owner Christa Williams said. Uncle Willie's is located on North Main Street in Columbia.
Uncle Willie's is one of the local grocery stores in Columbia that could qualify for a proposed city stimulus program. The program initiative would reimburse grocery store owners 100 percent of the annual business license tax.
“I think any rebate program is phenomenal in attracting businesses to the City of Columbia, just as well as any other city,” Williams said. But she said it’s not enough to keep a small business afloat.
“We want more people to be inspired to open grocery stores, but when more people open grocery stores, especially local people, especially individual business owners, we really have to have that community support,” Williams said.
This program helps to maintain and establish grocery stores in the following specific areas: Main Street, North Main Street, Two Notch Road, Farrow Road, Elmwood Avenue, Fairfield Road, W. Beltline Boulevard, Colonial Drive, Bull Street, River Drive, Sunset Drive, Monticello Road, Covenant Road, Atlas Road, Bluff Road, and the BullStreet District.
Some residents say there’s a definite need.
“It’s hard. We had a Piggly Wiggly where they have Rose's right here on the Beltline," resident Shirley Mills said. "They took that away from us not, only myself but they took it from others. It was in walking distance. There was a need. It was closer for them to get to the store, and now they gotta catch the bus.”
Other residents say this could help with the selection of groceries.
The program states “Sales of tobacco & vape shall be limited and classified as ancillary as defined by Zoning.” The focus is on places that sell fresh produce and other groceries.
“Yeah, it would be nice to be able to do that." Anita Nelam said. "It's difficult sometimes to find fresh produce in particular.”
The committee will finalize the program before sending it to the full council for consideration.