🌴 Bank Branches Are the New Buzzkill

Welcome to CHS Happenings, the weekly newsletter that keeps you in the know about Charleston events, restaurants & retail.

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Happy Friday morning, Charleston! On this day in 2000, the Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley, was raised from the floor of Charleston Harbor. It was a big affair, with people lining the beach at Sullivans, residents along The Battery congregating on the sea wall and a bunch on the deck of the Yorktown. CNN even carried it live. All to catch a glimpse of the first submarine to ever sink an enemy warship. She would be sailed into the harbor after being lifted from the ocean floor 4 miles off Sullivans Island.

Five years earlier, a team led by author Clive Cussler found the Hunley after searching for 15 years. A host of issues had to be navigated before she could finally be recovered, not the least of which was how to respectfully handle the remains of its 8 crew members.

In early 1864, the Union ship USS Housatonic was on blockade duty, anchored in the shallow waters of Charleston Harbor. On the evening of February 17, the human-powered (hand-cranked) H.L. Hunley approached Housatonic. It was outfitted with a spar torpedo, a weapon literally mounted on the end of a 16-foot long pole! Once secured against the target’s hull, the torpedo detached from the spar, and the submarine backed away.

It soon exploded, and Housatonic almost immediately started sinking. The explosion was so intense that the entire crew of Hunley died as a result of the concussive effects of the underwater blast. She sank to the bottom of the ocean, and it would be 131 years before she was seen again.

You can visit H.L. Hunley on the grounds of Navy Yard Charleston.

Congrats to Jason D. of Summerville, who was the 1st to guess correctly in our “Where Are We” segment last week! Our photo was provided by a subscriber, Rich S. of Daniel Island, and was the Old Wide Awake Plantation in Hollywood. Another one I thought would be tough, but Jason responded in record time. And at least 10 of you weren’t far behind.

WEEKEND WEATHER

Friday 84° / 73° ⛅ 💧24%

Saturday 82° / 75° 🌩️ 💧58%

Sunday 83° / 76° 🌩️ 💧64%

CURATED HAPPENINGS

Friday, August 8

FRIENDS SUMMER BOOK SALE! | 9:30 AM - 5 PM | Johns Island Regional Library | It's that time of year again—our much-anticipated Summer Sale is here! This is your chance to snag some amazing books at unbeatable prices while supporting local literacy.

Stray Cats Comedy | 8 - 10 PM | The Rickhouse at Cannon Distillery | Get ready for a night of hilarious stand-up comedy at the Rickhouse at Cannon Distillery

Candlelight: Tribute to Fleetwood Mac | 8:45 - 10 PM | Magnolia Plantation | Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Charleston.

Saturday, August 9

Sweat on the Ship- Sunrise Session | 8 - 9 AM | Patriots Point | Get ready to break a sweat aboard the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point with the Sweat on the Ship workout series! Secure your spot today:

Dog Day Afternoon | 10 AM - 3 PM I Mount Pleasant Palmetto Islands County Park | Bring your furry friends for some off-leash swimming and splashing at one of Charleston County Parks' three waterparks!

Gullah Doll Making Class | 4 - 5 PM | Magnolia Plantation | Create your own one-of-a-kind Gullah doll in a special class with Genya Watson. Her dolls can be found in our Gift Shop , and this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about Gullah Geechee culture.

Sunday, August 10

Sunday Brunch Farmers Market | 11 AM - 3 PM | Pour House | Shop local makers, artists, farmers and enjoy live music with the community! Come see The Sparkle Bar every Sunday Funday at The Charleston Pour House.

2nd Sunday on King Street | 12 - 5 PM I King Street shops, Charleston | If you're wondering who, what, where, why of 2nd Sunday, here's the scoop. Every month on the second Sunday the City of Charleston helps us to shut down King Street (our Main Street) from Queen to Calhoun, roughly 1/2 mile, to through traffic and without parked cars, for 5 blissful hours.

Second Sunday Signing with Savannah Reed | 1 - 3 PM | Buxton Books | Buxton Books is proud to host Savannah Reed, author and born-and-raised Charlestonian, to the bookstore for a signing celebrating her debut novel, All the Little Moments.

For a COMPLETE list of events in the Charleston area, bookmark the site below!

Into The Void To Rescue Us Steps…Chase Bank

Here’s a fun thought experiment: If local entrepreneurs had a dollar for every time a national bank gobbled up a prime retail corner in Charleston, they might finally be able to afford rent here.

But let’s be blunt: the next time you drive past what could’ve been a lively café, a funky vintage shop, or a killer breakfast spot—and instead see yet another freshly minted Chase Bank branch—just know you’re witnessing a slow-motion, beige-colored takeover.

Chase’s expansion across South Carolina, including the Charleston region, flies in the face of one of the most consistent, data-backed shifts in consumer behavior over the past 15 years: people are not going to bank branches anymore. They’re just not.

National foot traffic to branches has been declining at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year. More than 7% of all U.S. branches have closed in the past five years. And let’s not even talk about Gen Z—they’re more likely to open a Roth IRA on their phone while scrolling TikTok than ever step foot into a branch. Only 8% of Americans regularly visit one.

Chase Has Different Ideas

So what’s Chase doing? Opening more branches. In Charleston. Where retail space is already tighter than the line at your favorite brunch spot on Sunday morning.

According to Lee & Associates’ 2025 Retail Review, the retail vacancy rate in Charleston is a shocking 3.3%. That’s barely enough breathing room for the businesses already here, let alone the would-be shopkeepers and chefs priced out before they even picked out flooring.

And into that squeeze steps Chase, snapping up prominent parcels not because they need the foot traffic, but because they can.

I’ll be honest—I’m not surprised. I saw this exact thing for years when I was a commercial real estate broker. Why wouldn’t a property owner lease to a tenant that:

1. Comes with a virtually risk-free credit profile

2. Pays top-dollar rent

3. Covers all the capital investment and builds a clean, code-compliant building on their own dime?

It’s a no-brainer. But it’s also a missed opportunity. Because every time Chase takes down a high-profile location, that’s a space no longer available for something truly local. Something lively. Something that gives the neighborhood a little more flavor.

Let’s not pretend this is just about banking. This is about space—creative, community-serving, small business-building space. Every time Chase secures a corner across from a Publix or on King Street, it's one less opportunity for a local idea to become a local institution.

And because Chase is unfazed by market rents (or gravity, apparently), they pay whatever it takes. That doesn’t inflate retail rents—it removes competition for them altogether.

It’s not all that different from what happened not so long ago in the residential market, especially in the Southeast. Institutional investors sweep in, buy up large swaths of homes, and drive up prices. Meanwhile, first-time buyers are left circling the block, wondering where they fit in. Same game, different asset class.

To be fair, Chase has its reasons. They say their branches support underbanked communities. They offer financial advice, investment guidance, college planning. And sure—those services matter.

But do they need to happen in one of the few remaining retail spots in a city already short on inventory?

Charleston’s character isn’t built by multinationals. It’s built by locals with ideas—and not nearly enough places to bring them to life.

IN THE COMMUNITY

• In February of last year, tons of sand started being dredged from the Folly River. As hurricane season approaches, 90% of what was used to shore up Folly Beach is still there.

• What does the cast of Southern Charm do for work when the cameras stop rolling? Don’t laugh, Craig Conover is a bona fide businessman.

• Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is nearing its 50th anniversary. Patriots Point taps designer with ties to Paris' Louvre for ambitious $5M master plan upgrades.

• Is it a good time to be a home buyer in the Charleston area? The data says yes according to this publication.

• Kids (and parents) will love what’s coming to Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry. A new splash pad is the centerpiece of a $4 million renovation.

3 MOST-CLICKED FROM LAST WEEK

• Our events calendar. Planning your own event? Add it to our calendar with this super-easy form.

• Were you in Charleston 25 years ago when the Hunley was recovered? The Post & Courier’s remembrance scored big with y’all.

• Lillian’s Petite Market & Eatery. Our story must have spurred our readers to check out Lillian’s website. If you went for the 1st time, let us know what you thought.

WHERE ARE WE?

Each week, watch this space for a random snap from somewhere in Charleston. Where are we? Just hit reply to this email, or if you’re reading on our website, email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!

NEW FEATURE: I created a nice and easy form where YOU can send me a photo. But only if you think it will stump our eagle-eyed community. Click the button below if you do! Landscape (horizontal) orientation works best.

LIVE MUSIC LOCALLY

Friday, August 8

Charles Esten presents (Ward Jammer 5) on the NÜTRL Beach Stage I 6 PM | The Windjammer I His music blends mature, storytelling-driven country and heartland rock.

Sufferin' Moses I 6 PM | Henry's On The Market | Sufferin' Moses SOLO @ Ansonborough Lounge.

Charlton Singleton and Contemporary Flow - Soul, Funk, and Jazz I 7 PM | Forte Jazz Lounge I Music that’s deeply rooted in jazz, soul, and the Gullah musical traditions of the South Carolina Lowcountry, blending classic swing, soulful melodies, and regional rhythms with virtuoso trumpet playing and storytelling flair.

Johnny Delaware I 7:30 PM | Music Farm I Blending folk, rock, and Americana with influences from the 1970s.

Muscadine Bloodline - The Coastal Plain Tour I 7:30 PM | The Refinery | For nearly a decade, Muscadine Bloodline have delivered a soulful and potent form of country music indelibly colored by their Alabama heritage.

Tricia Ann Band I 9:30 PM | The Pub On 61 | Tricia Ann Band is a leader of the Southern Rock resurgence coming out of the Appalachia region. While their sound is defined mainly by their heavy rock tone, both the lyrical content and feel of their music exhibits their country rock roots.

Saturday, August 9

Music @ Two Blokes - Krystal Halvorson | 5:30 - 8:30 PM | Two Blokes Brewing | Join us on August 9th as we welcome the talented local musician Krystal Halvorson to play at Two Blokes!

Live at Firefly with Cypress Hill & Atmosphere: Dank Daze of Summer Tour I 6 PM | Firefly Distillery | Cypress Hill & Atmosphere - Dank Daze of Summer Tour With Lupe Fiasco & The Pharcyde.

Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute on the NÜTRL Beach Stage - Saturday I 6 PM | The Windjammer

Sea Island Full Moon Revue I 6 PM | Pour House | CARY ANN HEARST featuring The Shrimp Records Family Band , Marshgrass Mamas, Inlaws, Garage Cuban Band + Cary Ann Hearst & Friends.

hallpass I 7 PM | The Royal American | hallpass is an indie/alternative rock group based in Athens, GA, originating from a friendship between two musicians introduced by their older brothers.

Echoes of Ella: The Music of Ella Fitzgerald performed by Alva Anderson I 7 PM | Forte Jazz Lounge

Disciple of the Garden - The Legacy of Chris Cornell I 7 PM | Music Farm

Phantoms I 7 PM | Trio | Composed of Kyle Kaplan and Vinnie Pergola, Phantoms have established themselves as a formidable force in electronic music.

An Evening with Chris Isaak I 8 PM | The Riviera Theater

Sunday, August 10

Sunday Brunch Farmers Market | 11 AM - 3 PM | Pour House | The Sunday Brunch Farmers Market is an all-local market, featuring more than 40 vendors that include local farmers, makers and artisans.

Memphis Lightning / Albert & The Smoking Section. Door @ 3. Show @ 4. $10 21+ | 3 - 6:30 PM | Tin Roof | The Hotter Than Hell Tour 2025 is Heating Up!!!

Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute on the NÜTRL Beach Stage - Sunday I 6 PM | The Windjammer

Gritty Flyright's Sawdust Supper Club Feat. Ben Chapman I 7 PM | Frontier Lounge | Ben Chapman was 16 when songwriter Channing Wilson, a fellow LaFayette, Ga., native, gave him some advice. “He told me, ‘You’ve got what it takes to be a successful musician if you wanna do it, but you can’t do it here. When you turn 21, you’ve gotta go to Nashville,’” Chapman recalls.

Barrington Levy I 8 PM | Music Farm | Doors at 7:00 pm | Show at 8:00 pm.

ICYMI

Charleston has some stylish cocktail bars. Here’s the 10 best. 

Seemed like there were a ton of delays that kept James Island’s newest coffee shop from opening. Area residents think it was worth the wait.

What was once the fantastic Macintosh (with a kinda boring in-between) is ready to welcome a newcomer to Upper King. A modern Japanese restaurant is taking its place.

Four restaurants in 7 years in the same space in West Ashley doesn’t bode well for #5. In the meantime, a French restaurant becomes the 4th to close there.

Sad, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Here’s Eater Carolinas’ Saddest Restaurant Closures.

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FEEDBACK

Got 15 seconds? Let us know what you thought about today’s newsletter by voting in the poll below (you’ll be done MUCH faster than cars on Johnnie Dodds at 4:00 PM on a Friday). 👇