King Street | The George Street Observer

Date published: 10/01/2010

Inside Anne’s, a women’s clothing boutique on King Street, the owner greets customers at the front door with a smile and a, “Hey y’all!” She then ushers them to a rack of tweed and leather winter jackets. The store’s monochromatic interior has an exposed ceiling and a four-foot-tall pearl and crystal chandelier. It’s a mix of antique charm and modern sophistication, according to owner Sara Snyder.

“This is our little Rodeo Drive,” Snyder said, “Charlestonians have a long history of being slightly snobbish and uppity, so this is where we unapologetically show off.”

To Snyder, showing off is proving to tourists that Charleston is not just a historical city still holding a grudge against the Union Army. King Street is a platform for clothing stores, restaurants and art galleries.

Her son and co-owner, Gary Snyder, describes King Street, quite fittingly, as the “king of all streets” because it’s the first-place visitors want to check out downtown after they check in to their hotels, dock their cruise ships or finally find a parking spot.

King Street runs down the center of the Charleston peninsula and is an almost perfect model of urban planning. It’s divided into districts that cluster similar businesses and offer variety to shoppers, diners and idle wanderers. Upper King is the design and dining district, middle King is the fashion district and lower King is the antiques district.

Chain stores like Nine West and William Sonoma are cropping up among the upscale restaurants and antiques shops. These chains are moving into storefronts formerly held by local shopkeepers and causing tension with some local owners.

The city is recruiting these retailers, according to Charleston Chamber of Commerce’s public relations director, Emily Watts.

“We’re pro-business. We interact with owners on local, state and federal levels,” Watts said, “The chamber works to create strong relationships with national chains because they bring money – simple as that.”

King Street is predominantly locally owned because most local businesses are restaurants, art galleries and antiques shops, but not retail stores, according to Watts. There are more retail chains than local boutiques, home goods and accessories stores.

“It’s sad to look out the window and see a Pottery Barn across the street,” Oops!, a local boutique, customer Brittany Handsel said, “I don’t want to see downtown Charleston turn into some sort of tacky, suburban strip mall.”

The Lowcountry Local First Initiative works to preserve the street for independent, local owners. The Initiative is a Charleston-based organization that advocates a local living economy. Its Buy Local campaign educates consumers about supporting local businesses and has declared Nov. 15-Dec. 15 as Buy Local month.

Chairman Andy Gowder’s goal is to change people’s daily buying habits. By shopping at stores that invest in the community, shoppers are helping to build a stronger Charleston economy, according to Gowder.

“We want people to know that we’re not asking for drastic lifestyle changes by only shopping local,” executive director Jamee Haley said, “Just a 10 percent budget shift from non-local businesses to local- independents.”

This budget shift would create $140 million for the economy, 1,600 new jobs and $50 million in new wages, according to Haley. Local businesses give $45 back to the community for every $100, but chains only give back $14, according to Haley.

Watts said the Buy Local campaign would have more success in a stronger economy. Charlestonians are more concerned about how to “afford new clothes and replace old appliances” than where they buy them, according to Watts.

“Families must be able to support themselves before they can worry about the status of local businesses on King Street,” Watts said.

Owner of The Extra Mile Running Shop, Mike Loggins, is “disgusted” by the retail chains on King Street. He and his wife have co-owned the shop in the fashion district since 1993. The Extra Mile’s location is a King Street original built in the early 1910s.The building sat empty throughout much of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Loggins said chain stores are “depersonalizing” downtown Charleston.

Though the recession is technically over, recovery is slow. Dozens of King Street stores and restaurants relocated or closed in the late 2000s because they had fewer customers and couldn’t afford the rents. Loggins said his rent peaked at $35 per square foot per month in 2008 and has since come down to the mid $20 range.

“There are so many empty storefronts and I can’t help but think that a family business probably folded,” tourist Amanda Worden said inside The Extra Mile as she browsed through sneakers.

Commercial rents are coming down, according to Loggins.

The average commercial rent on King Street is $30 per square foot per month, according to Southeastern Management Group leasing agent, Ellen Watson.

SEMG has six King Street storefronts for rent, ranging from $18 to $48 per square foot per month. Yearly rents can cost upwards of $300,000, according to Watson.

SEMG also has properties off the peninsula in Folly Beach and West Ashley. Prices in these suburban markets are less expensive than King Street – each averaging less than $20 per square foot per month, according to Watson. But, she adds, chain retailers want to have locations in nationally recognized shopping districts.

“Successful retail chains are willing to lease larger, more expensive units, have strong credit scores and pay their rents on time,” Watson said.

The Chamber of Commerce considers the high price of commercial rents as a sign of a growing economy. National chains boost the city economy by paying expensive rents to local leasing agencies, according to Watts.

Many local King Street owners attempt to stand out among chains by marketing products that are relevant to the Lowcountry and aren’t mass-produced.

Robben Nita owns Worthwhile in the fashion district. She opened the boutique in 1993 when King Street was blocks of “stiff clothing stores and overpriced tchotchkes.” When it opened, neighboring storeowners thought the dimly lit and wood paneled interior might as well be selling hemp dresses and bongs. The baby clothes, hand cut soap, watering cans and recycled purses were too radical for Charleston.

“Local ownership forces diversity because stores like us are run differently than chains,” Worthwhile employee, Mary Hunter, said, “We design the floor plan and decide what goes on sale instead of a corporate office making decisions based on spreadsheets.”

Worthwhile is also helping the community by stocking local designers and staying active in the Buy Local campaign, according to Nita. It carries products by local women’s wear designers Julia Faye Davison and Anna Lassiter.

Berlins, a clothing store in the antiques district, supports the initiative and the Buy Local campaign by giving money back to the community. Owner Elaine Berlin works to maintain the charm of downtown Charleston – especially the shop’s location on the corner of King and Broad streets in the antiques district.

Berlin is fourth generation owner of the store at the same location.

The Berlin family has owned the men and women’s clothing store since 1883. The store’s famous corner looks almost the same today as it did in the early 20th century. Only tour groups and sports cars have replaced horse and buggies and Model T’s. Berlin gives money to the city through personal donations to fund street cleaners, neighborhood watch programs and building restoration projects.

The store’s customers are a mix of curious tourists who found the location in Charleston guidebooks and longtime Charleston residents.

Berlins’ customer Marshall Simmonds is a loyal customer because shopping at Berlins “is an occasion and feels special.” The staff is welcoming and attentive, unlike other retailers where shopping can feel like a chore, according to Simmonds.

He buys a seersucker suit, on sale for $300. The type of outfit a man in his twenties can only get away with wearing in Charleston.

But not everyone considers these retail developments as a sign of the Apocalypse.

“The Charleston bureaucracy needs something to hate on,” Blue Bicycle Books owner, Jonathon Sanchez, said, “If they’re not pissed off about progress they’re not breathing. So, right now it’s chains – just don’t build a Books-A-Million please.”

Sanchez’s store in the design district sells used and rare books. He welcomes retail chains downtown andsaidtherealproblemwillcomewhenbusinessesstopbeinginterestedinKingStreet. National chains bring customers, according to Sanchez.

Statistics from the city show that 72 percent of King Street stores are locally owned. While this percentage is strong, the amount of square footage taken up by national retailers is increasing, according to Haley.

Chad Yonce, also a commercial leasing agent with SEMG, said chain retailers are more likely to take up the largest King Street properties.

“This is a pretty standard rule,” Yonce said, “The only exceptions are a handful of locally owned furniture stores in the design district, but in general the smaller the store the more likely it is to be a locally owned.”

Most storefronts ranging from 1,000-5,000 square feet are boutiques and shoe stores. National home goods and clothing stores need the most retail space. Urban Outfitters and Pottery Barn have the largest retail chain properties on King Street, according to Yonce, each more than 10,000 square feet.

Pottery Barn, in the fashion district, makes a profit of at least $5 million per year, according to the store’s manager, Tina O’Donald. While local owners and organizations, like Lowcountry Local First and the Historic Charleston Society, want the store out, it’s here to stay because customers keep it busy and profitable, according to O’Donald.

“All that matters is the approval of the city and the consumers – we have both,” O’Donald said.

The store has 15 employees. There’s nothing remarkable about this Pottery Barn location besides the view through the windows out on to King Street. Every store has the same layout and display, according to O’Donald.

Sales associate, Richard, who chose not to give his last name, said that King Street will never again be reserved for local businesses only, but chains won’t run out every independently owned store either.

Retailers draw in customers with brand recognition, helping the independents. Then, the independents preserve localized charm, helping the chains. Each needs the other to be successful, according to Richard.

Victoria’s Secret is another successful King Street chain store because of its brand recognition and low prices, according to sales associate Cherie Kripal. The lingerie and clothing store is in the fashion district – just one of its 900 stores across the country.

Kripal echoes the sentiment that chain stores bring options to customers. She said even if King Street was taken over by chains, Charleston would still retain its distinct Southern charm. Historical architecture, the Battery and open-air markets are more important to preserve than stores, according to Kripal.

Victoria’s Secret customer, Sydney Mitchell, browses through pajama pants. She shops at chain stores because the prices are usually lower. Local stores are reserved for buying presents – Mitchell splurges on gifts from Copper Penny for her friends and sister.

Many local owners and their customers also support cohabitation on King Street.

“People need a mix of old and new, comfortable and different,” 319 Men customer, Nicholas Boatwright, said, “Maybe a shopper will go into Gap or J. Crew, but then be inspired to visit a locally-owned boutique as well.”

319 Men is an upscale clothing store that caters to loyal, and wealthy, customers. Sales associate Lee Clagett measures a man for a tailored suit inside the modest store. Its dark wood paneling and crowded sweater displays make it seem even smaller.

Clagett said customers, or as he refers to them, clients, come in for exceptional service. He compared shopping at 319 Men to hiring a personal stylist. 319 Men’s sales have declined, but isn’t in danger of closing, according to Clagett. Suit jackets here can run upwards of $400 and bowties start at $50.

“Coming here for quality is worth the price,” customer Jacob Keller said, “Oh, except if there’s a sale at Joseph A. Bank. You can get ties for, like, $15.”

Erastus Corning III owns The Silver Puffin in the fashion district. He said the national interest in Charleston is good for business and there’s room for everybody.

Corning attributes the success of his store to the diversity of his customers. He gets a balanced mix of tourists, locals and College of Charleston students. They all keep coming back because of Silver Puffin’s prices and unique items, according to Corning.

What’s now a gift and craft store lined with aluminum lawn decorations of ducks in raincoats, was once the Gloria Theater. The 7,000-seat theater opened in 1927 and hosted plays, concerts and films until the Sottile family donated the building to the College of Charleston in the 1970s.

The Silver Puffin opened at a different address, but was pushed out by clothing chain Juicy Couture when the rent went up. Corning prefers the new location adjacent to the College of Charleston. There’s big business in the college’s faculty and staff.

“Gift baskets are great ‘thank you’ presents and Erastus delivers them anywhere,” director of the Cougar Calling Center, Sara Ferguson, said while ordering a thank you basket for a colleague.

Admissions counselor, Seaton Brown, buys jewelry and “kitschy stuff” by local artists for his mother and aunts. He said his family in St. Simons, Ga. appreciates gifts with Charleston flair.