ELLOREE, S.C. — Elloree Station aims to give a fresh face to downtown Elloree. According to developers, the location on Cleveland Street is where the town's former grocery store was built around the 1950's.
It's been vacant for years, and will soon house multiple shops and restaurants.
“It can be a really unique, fun little town that would bring Elloree back to her old glory," said Elloree Development Group President Marc Postlewait.
The Elloree Development Group has purchased six buildings along Cleveland Street to date with plans of acquiring a seventh building. Its vision for Elloree Station is to become a hub for residents in downtown Elloree.
It says there will be a courtyard surrounding Elloree Station with a stage where bands can perform and outdoor seating for people to gather and eat. A charcuterie and wine retailer, microbrewery, and mercantile and southern restaurant are among the various retailers who will soon call Elloree home.
They say the open space will allow for a farmer's market and a central town fountain.
“We knew that we wanted to bring tourism to Elloree and what brings people together is food and shopping," said Elloree Development Group vice president Krista Hassell.
Hassell says longtime residents reflect on downtown Elloree as what once was a booming town with traffic and people shopping and eating out on weekends. The development group's mission is to restore that.
“We certainly don’t wanna see anything big box, huge corporate, we don’t want that. We want mom and pop, young entrepreneurs that just want to see Elloree restored to what she was," said Hassell.
The goal is to begin construction of Elloree Station within the next six months.