ANDY OWENS PROFILE

SC Biz News CEO and Group Publisher Grady Johnson is leaving the business he helped found after 26 years. An entrepreneur who owned several businesses before joining the Charleston Regional Business Journal in 1995 with founder B... Read More

Allegiance Flag Supply, the North Charleston company that produces high-quality flags using all American labor and manufacturers, received some recognition in an interview on Fox News recently. (see video below) We spent some time at ... Read More

This week, six large-scale utility companies, including two operating in South Carolina, said they are banding together to address the electric vehicle infrastructure problem. When you buy a car that burns gas or compresses diesel, fi... Read More

The recent tragic incident involving Tiger Woods this week brought back a memory from the 2012 PGA Championship when our photographer, Leslie Burden, got up before dawn to get a photo of Woods going through a practice round. It wasn... Read More

Lowcountry Local First opened a new HQ, including more than 5,000 square feet of coworking space on Summerville Avenue in Charleston late last week. The location in the Lumberyard commercial development expands and modernize... Read More

Most of the companies receiving emergency loans to retain jobs in South Carolina in the early days of the pandemic will qualify for a streamlined forgiveness program. That could mean more than $76 million would not have to be paid bac... Read More

Gov. Henry McMaster indicated during a military commanders briefing Thursday that he would lift restaurant occupancy restrictions that have been in place since early August. “We’re going to remove the limitations on restau... Read More

North Charleston firefighters and Charleston County EMS responded to a commercial structure fire at a uniform company in North Charleston this morning. There were no injuries, the fire department said in a news release, and the fi... Read More

A regional developer said while the market for larger office space might struggle during the coronavirus pandemic, the appetite for smaller square footage could see a resurgence. Jeff Baxter, a partner in Cityvolve, said interest ... Read More

Goose Creek launched an economic development quest last year that included finding a food and beverage tenant for the city’s old fire station building. Now, the city has announced that effort is moving forward with a new brewery... Read More

The president of the S.C. Craft Distillers Guild told the S.C. congressional delegation that without increased federal help to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, many distilleries in the state could be facing closure. I... Read More

Congress is considering a simplified process for forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans, especially smaller loans, the CEO of the S.C. Bankers Association said. Across South Carolina, 63,000 businesses received federally bac... Read More

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The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge opened 15 years ago this week, on July 14, 2005. As anniversaries go, 15 years isn’t one of those milestones that gets celebrated like Charleston’s 350th, but 15 years ago was a significant m... Read More

The latest chapter in a dispute over church property between the national Episcopal Church and a group of breakaway churches has been filed by a circuit court judge in Dorchester County. The dispute over ownership of church proper... Read More

What’s next for 35 Prioleau St.? One-hundred eighty years before 35 Prioleau St. in Charleston became the Harbour Club, the building served as offices and warehouse space for the city’s working waterfront. ... Read More

The Charleston Museum has reopened with two new exhibits, as well as hourly tours of the Joseph Manigault House, which began Monday. The Heyward-Washington House is set to reopen June 15. The museum recently received a bridge gran... Read More

Responding to questions from businesses already struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, Charleston and Charleston County officials said they took their lead from law enforcement on the timing of multiple days of curfews.... Read More

Windows and doors were boarded up at businesses across the Lowcountry on Sunday, a day after civil unrest in downtown Charleston, sparked by protests after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis. ... Read More

Jason Ward, president of Landmark Enterprises, said diversification has helped the portfolio developer and commercial real estate company weather some of the COVID-19 fallout in recent weeks. Ward said the pandemic, and its requir... Read More

As offices and retail businesses closed in waves while COVID-19 took hold across the Lowcountry, one thing soon became clear: Construction sites were not closing down. Part of that is the essential nature of the business sector, e... Read More

Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiznews.c... Read More

Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiznews... Read More

COVID-19 has put a business twist on a scam that typically gets used against homeowners during natural disasters. The scam goes like this: Someone calls or emails you and says they’re from the electric utility company and if you... Read More

Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiznews.c... Read More

Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbizn... Read More

Coping with COVID SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbizn... Read More

Coping with COVID: SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiz... Read More

Coping with COVID: SC Biz News is speaking with small businesses and community leaders about the impact of the new coronavirus on business and industry, and how this is changing how they operate. Contact Andy Owens, aowens@scbiz... Read More

Hurricane Dorian was a shared experience for residents and businesses of the Lowcountry, with or without electricity, as it spun off the coast as a Category 3 hurricane and raked the area with wave after wave of wind this morning. ... Read More

Kion North America in Summerville has received its largest industrial truck order in the company’s history from a chain of home improvement stores headquartered in Wisconsin. Kion North America will manufacture and supply Me... Read More

Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union's board of directors has named Jason S. Lee as the financial institution's new president and chief operating officer. Lee replaces CEO Jim McDaniel, who worked for Heritage Trust for 22 year... Read More

Four transactions totaling more than $14 million in downtown Charleston have moved 31,635 square feet of retail and office space to a Charlotte investment firm. Asana Partners paid $14.4 million for three buildings and a portion of a ... Read More

The Columbia Regional Business Report and GSA Business Report won top honors for journalism excellence during an annual conference of business-to-business publishers over the weekend in Atlanta. Hundreds of publishers attended the thr... Read More

Businesses and residents have collected more than $30 million in incentives from South Carolina’s utilities for launching solar projects since 2014. That’s when a law went into effect allowing privately owned solar operati... Read More

As Columbia’s historic communities and neighborhoods continue to attract redevelopment, industry leaders think that growth could serve as connective tissue linking the region’s economy. A four-person panel of developers, a... Read More

Businesses and residents have collected more than $30 million in incentives from South Carolina’s utilities for launching solar projects since 2014. That’s when the law went into effect allowing privately owned solar o... Read More

As larger companies build stronger, more fortified layers of cybersecurity, bad actors are increasingly going after small and midsize businesses they consider more vulnerable, according to an executive from an Atlanta cybersecurity compa... Read More

The renewables vice president for S.C. Electric & Gas said that businesses should look at electric vehicle charging as a possible workplace benefit, saying such a move could trigger a shift in how people think about electric vehi... Read More

Cayce’s mayor told a group of business executives and community members that women excel in business and government once they see opportunity open to them. Mayor Elise Partin gave the keynote address Thursday at the 2018 Women o... Read More

When Isaac Morton started Smithey Ironware Co. in 2014, his goal was to make the kind of cast iron cookware he would use in his own kitchen. Four years later, the company has grown from a small, boxy industrial spot on James Islan... Read More

The S.C. Department of Transportation has answered some of the lingering questions surrounding the sudden closure and later reopening of the James B. Edwards bridge that snarled traffic across the Charleston region after a cable snap... Read More

Want to know what inspires the chief of police in North Charleston? What about the preferred reading for the SBA’s entrepreneur of the year? Or maybe where a local nonprofit organizer looks for inspiration? We had all these ques... Read More

This is the time of year when we usually like to do a short post on shark attacks. There are a lot of tourists here (and newcomers), and we usually feel good about reminding folks they can go into the ocean without a care because your... Read More

What is it about Charleston-area mayors and their life-size Tonka toys? For years, we’ve seen them step up into the cab to do demolition on some structure whose time has come — the most recent example being Charleston Mayo... Read More

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More than a few South Carolinians inadvertently did some drifting in their vehicles as the recent ice storm descended on the Palmetto State more than a week ago. But not long ago, the high-performance drivers at the BMW Performance C... Read More

Each year, the S.C. Stingrays invite fans to open their hearts and launch thousands of teddy bears onto the ice in what has become a tradition at hockey rinks across America. This year’s teddy bear toss in North Charleston w... Read More

Mount Pleasant officially opened the doors on its new, $29 million town hall this morning, next door to the old town hall, which will be torn down and made into a community park. Residents already were doing business Tuesday morni... Read More

Yes, guess. Now go back to the beach, because the odds of you encountering a shark with bloodlust in the coastal waters of the Palmetto State are pretty low. But... It’s Shark Week ... no wait, wrong link... It’s Shark... Read More

We’ve been saving up historic photos of the Charleston City Market, waiting for the summer tourism season to hit its peak. After taking a sweltering stroll down Market, Meeting and East Bay streets recently, we’re fairly s... Read More

A former legal office on St. Michaels Alley offers piece of architecture from the mid-19th century, along with one of Charleston’s and South Carolina’s quintessential stories. We dug up a photo from the Library of Cong... Read More

Sharon Sellers, president of SLS Consulting LLC, wanted to honor an employee’s request to work more than 40 hours one week to give her time to be out with a sick child. But she couldn’t do it. Federal laws require private ... Read More

They didn’t make the final cut, but the students at Cane Bay High School did something that 2,950 other schools weren’t able to do: Get the attention of a worldwide brand of shoes and nearly end up having their designs sold. ... Read More

The Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Power Breakfast was hugely popular on Wednesday. Nine individuals from a mosaic of sectors in business, industry, national defense, finance, marking and community outreach told us what the... Read More

Before Joe Riley left the mayor’s office, he told the Charleston RiverDogs that plans to enhance the baseball stadium bearing his name should fit into the existing look and feel of the stadium. “We’ve had quite a... Read More

A Southeastern developer and homebuilder has purchased land and other assets at Mixson, a mixed-use community that was part of the resurgence of North Charleston’s Park Circle area. FrontDoor Communities, the buyer, said the dea... Read More

For 20 years, the Charleston Regional Business Journal has honored 40 individuals under 40 years old for their professional engagement and community service in the Charleston area. An awards ceremony and networking event will be held ... Read More

A proposal to raise Mount Pleasant’s impact fees to the maximum allowed by state law was tabled just before a Town Council vote Tuesday night. Councilman Joe Bustos, who led the effort, agreed to put his motion on hold after sev... Read More

Mount Pleasant Town Council passed a six-month moratorium on multifamily developments Tuesday night, but some council members suggested the move didn’t go far enough and is mostly symbolic. The halt, which passed by a 7-2 vote, ... Read More

Alfred R. Waud was a 19th-century artist who traveled across the United States and drew the things he saw, including the war-torn America of the late 1800s. Back then, he worked as a correspondent, using pencils and paper instead of ... Read More

A large part of Charleston’s economy today depends on tourism, hospitality and room nights in the region’s hotels, restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts. That’s not surprising, or even new. More than a century ago, Char... Read More

We're starting off 2017 with a 152-year-old look at one corner of the Four Corners of Law. The Library of Congress has collected many old photos, and Charleston, being a very old city, is well-represented.... Read More

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State lawmakers representing Dorchester County said Gov. Nikki Haley’s appointment as U.N. ambassador could mean South Carolina’s infrastructure problems might finally be addressed in the next legislative session. Rep.... Read More

A federal judge in Texas halted a Labor Department rule change that would have made 70,000 salaried S.C. workers eligible for overtime on Dec. 1. In May, the Labor Department, at the direction of President Barack Obama, doubled the th... Read More

Don’t call it an uber tuber — sweet potatoes are roots, after all — but there’s a patented potato growing beneath the soil in North Charleston that’s good for making chips and could be used as an alternative... Read More