covid-19 pandemic

Long-standing Downtown Restaurant Closing Its Doors

A long-standing restaurant situated in the heart of downtown Charleston will soon be closing their doors.

The Macintosh, which is located on Upper King Street, will officially be closing on March 7th after serving their staple brunch menu to patrons. The restaurant has been in business for over a decade and helped get Charleston’s food scene noticed by tourists and critics alike.

While the COVID-19 pandemic was not the primary reason they chose to close their doors, it certainly played a part in the ultimate decision.

In a statement on the decision to close The Macintosh, Steve Palmer, founder and partner of The Indigo Road restaurant group, said, “The Macintosh’s moment in time has come and gone. Our tastes have changed: We’re just in a different universe now…Sales is the ultimate report card, I believe the restaurant would be in a different place had COVID not happened, but COVID is not the reason.”

While The Macintosh will be closing, the Cocktail Club located above the restaurant will remain open.

Mount Pleasant

Chick-fil-A Manager Assists with COVID-19 Vaccine Line in Mount Pleasant

It cannot be denied – the efficiency of Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru line is unmatched.

In an effort to streamline the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie called on Chick-fil-A manager Jerry Walkowiak to help organize and streamline the distribution of the vaccine in his city.

On January 22nd, Walkowiak came out to the drive-thru vaccination clinic, which was housed in the Seacoast Church parking lot, to direct traffic – an effort that shrank the vaccine wait time from over an hour to a mere 15 minutes.

Mayor Haynie tweeted a video of Walkowiak directing traffic and was shocked by the response. Haynie said, “It just went everywhere. You would think the story would be that we’re not only blessed to have the vaccine before many people get it, but you can get it in a drive-thru line from the comfort of your car. But no, the story is that the people who sell chicken sandwiches were running that line.”

Officials hope to continue to use the experience and expertise of others to help distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.

News

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition Officially Cancelled

Charleston’s Southeastern Wildlife Exposition has officially canceled their highly-anticipated 2021 event. The four day event, which was supposed to take place February 11th through February 14th, has been called off due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) normally generates an increase in tourism for the city, with many people flocking to see the wildlife exhibitions and competitions around the city. According to an analysis by College of Charleston, it was estimated that the 2019 SEWE event garnered around $16.4 million of visitor spending for Charleston.

While there’s no doubt the cancellation of this event will impact the already suffering hospitality industry, event officials extensively assessed the current public health situation and determined it would not be safe to hold the event this year.

If you already purchased your tickets for this year’s event, you can donate the value of your tickets under a tax-deductible donation or you can receive a refund upon request within 45 days of the event cancellation. Submit your refund request by emailing sewe@sewe.com.