1. NEWS RELEASE
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For immediate release
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Contact: Scott Dadson, Beaufort City Manager, 843-525-7070
Award-winning Lowcountry Produce market to
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open in former Beaufort City Hall downtown
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A Lobeco-based specialty food company that’s been spotlighted by no less than Oprah Winfrey
and The New York Times will open a storefront in downtown Beaufort’s former City Hall, the
Beaufort Redevelopment Commission and Mayor Billy Keyserling announced today.
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The 1917 structure, beside the county library in the heart of Beaufort’s historic downtown,
served as Beaufort City Hall until last summer when staff moved to the new facility at the
intersection of Ribaut Road and Boundary Street.
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The Beaufort Redevelopment Commission tackled the task of finding a suitable tenant to fill the
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imposing and important structure at Carteret and Port Republic streets. In March, a call for
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proposals brought only one informal response –but efforts behind the scenes continued with the
City’s newly created Office of Civic Investment.
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During mid-March workshops as part of the Redevelopment Commission’s Civic Master Plan
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process, several people expressed interest in rehabbing and re-using the former City Hall, said
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Jon Verity, chairman of the Redevelopment Commission.
“Lowcountry Produce is an ideal company to move into the old City Hall. This kind of
reinvestment in the heart of downtown, especially with such a historic and important building, is
key to keeping Beaufort a vibrant and thriving place to do business,” Verity said.
Originally built as a post office, the structure has undergone multiple renovations in the past 90
years. Under the lease agreement, Lowcountry Produce will make additional changes to convert
the corner building into a retail food market.
Lowcountry Produce, led by Noel Garrett, his brother Dwight Garrett and Seabury Thorp, is a
purveyor of specialty food products distributed to over 1,500 stores across the country. The
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2. Garrett’s parents, Martha and Dwight Garrett, founded the company and still serve as its main
cheerleaders, the Garrett brothers said.
All products are handmade and hand-packed using only all-natural ingredients. The products are
made locally at the farmstand in Lobeco. The farmstand is the original “company store” where
customers can find local fruits and vegetables as well as a great hamburger at the grill. That
facility will remain open when the downtown location opens its doors early this fall.
In six years, Lowcountry Produce has been mentioned by 0 Magazine for inclusion in Oprah
Winfrey’s Christmas 2010 "0-List," and has been featured in an article in The New York Times.
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Country Living Magazine named them one of the "Best American Pickle Brands" in July 2010.
Their products have been talked about on “Good Morning America” and the “Today” show, and
last month the company earned the Civitas Award for Excellence in Free Enterprise from the
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Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In May, the Redevelopment Commission and City leaders celebrated groundbreaking for
MidTown Square, a residential project on one and a half blocks of largely vacant land at Bladen
Street in Beaufort’s Northwest Quadrant. When completed, MidTown Square is expected to
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feature up to 16 homes and six “live-work units” developed by Steven Tully and John Trask III.
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“As we saw with MidTown Square, people are responding to the investment made by the City to
improve Beaufort,” Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling said. “It’s going to take some time, and it’s
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going to take more public-private partnerships to make it happen. Filling the former City Hall
building with an exciting company like Lowcountry Produce is another big step.”
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Martin Goodman, chairman of the Redevelopment Commission’s Commercial Redevelopment
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Committee, and his team coordinated the project to keep the old City Hall a vibrant part of
downtown.
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The opening of the Carteret Street Lowcountry Produce store came as a result of their interest in
a more urban storefront, Noel Garrett said. Downtown residents John and Erica Dickerson were
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instrumental in bringing the company to Beaufort, he said.
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The City’s Office of Civic Investment and the Redevelopment Commission “met with the
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owners of Lowcountry Produce to assess their needs and determine the best location in Beaufort
for their store,” said Demetri Baches, co-leader of Office of Civic Investment and owner of the
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planning firm Metrocology. Interest in the City Hall building grew as plans for downtown
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Beaufort began to crystallize.
The company, Redevelopment Commission and City leaders negotiated a lease for a combined
10-year period in increments of an initial three-year term with renewals available for three and
four years. The company will be responsible for making all improvements to the structure.
For more information about Lowcountry Produce, visit www.lowcountryproduce.com. To learn
more about Beaufort, try www.cityofbeaufort.org.
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