On St. Philip Street, the rhythm has changed.
What used to be espresso steam, tourists wandering, and doors chiming open is now backup alarms and fencing.
And, increasingly, silence inside shops.
According to reporting by The Post & Courier’s Teri Errico Griffis, for the first time in 10 years, Charleston Candle Co. has taken a loss.
Owner Kristen Schwiers didn’t mince words.
“Online sales are saving us,” she told the paper. But her shop has always depended on foot traffic. And right now, she said, “people can’t come to our store.”
Schwiers’ storefront sits in the middle of two massive projects: The Peninsula of Charleston, a seven-story senior living complex, and Courier Square, the long-planned 12-acre redevelopment poised to reshape Cannonborough/Elliotborough.
The future may be glossy.
The present? Closed sidewalks. Vanished parking. Repeated street shutdowns — including a sinkhole repair that halted traffic for nearly a month.
“We literally sit there all day and watch them cross the street, walk across and keep going,” Schwiers told The Post & Courier.
She added, starkly: “We may not be here in two years.”
A Neighborhood That Built Itself
Few people have championed this stretch of downtown harder than Mimi Striplin, founder of The Tiny Tassel.
Her shop helped turn St. Philip into a colorful corridor of independent retail. The area now boasts nationally recognized restaurants — including Wild Common, Vern’s, and Malagón — along with short-term rentals and destination shopping.
Yet Striplin told The Post & Courier she feels the neighborhood has been overlooked locally.
“It baffles me,” she said. “Because the amount of revenue that comes from our neighborhood … I don't understand how that's not been flagged on the city's radar.”
Developers say they’ve worked to communicate. DJ Van Slambrook of Greystar acknowledged to the newspaper that construction hasn’t made them “the greatest neighbors,” but argued the long-term value will be significant. Liberty Senior Living’s Patrick Allen noted that 85 percent of Peninsula units have already been sold.
Striplin, however, pushed back.
“They send information,” she said. “But they don’t respond when we email them and ask a question.”
Her sharpest observation came as the city called a closed-door mediation between developers and select business owners — more than a year into construction.
“It feels a little too late now that we're meeting over a year into construction and just now trying to figure out how to help the businesses on the street,” Striplin told The Post & Courier.
Notably, both Striplin and Schwiers said they had not received invitations to the meeting as of midday Feb. 24.
Fines, Meetings — and Now What?
The city has issued five $1,000 citations for improper street closures and says inspectors are increasing monitoring. Officials also told the paper they are reviewing policies to ensure growth does not negatively impact existing businesses.
That’s the long view.
Small businesses live in the short one.
They live in this month’s rent. This week’s payroll. Saturday’s foot traffic.
Developments promise transformation by 2028.
But as Striplin and Schwiers made clear to The Post & Courier, the clock they’re watching isn’t the ribbon-cutting.
It’s survival.
And on St. Philip Street, survival suddenly feels like the hardest build of all.
This is a summary of an article published in the Post & Courier. Click here if you'd like to read that article.
