BEST ADVICE Amy Barch Founder of Turning Leaf
PAGE 4 VOLUME 27 NUMBER 15 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
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JULY 26 - AUGUST 8, 2021 ■ $2.25
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Cafe rethinks strategy with loss of breakfast crowd By Teri Errico Griffis
Bank on it
S.C. saw the highest number of branch openings in the country this year. Page 13
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tgriffis@scbiznews.com
aralee Nielsen Fallert was one of the lucky ones to head into the pandemic with six restaurants and come out with just as many. The shift in how people dine out now, however, has caused her to rethink one eatery in particular, The Park Cafe on Rutledge Avenue in Charleston.
Just two years ago, Fallert and her business partner renovated the 1,200-square-foot space to focus on breakfast and introduce a special events room. But with workers no longer grabbing breakfast on the way to the office or groups gathering in large spaces, the model needed to shift once again. “During the pandemic, we stopped serving breakfast because business breakfast didn’t really exist,” she said. “So, we shifted and start-
Fire damage
An early morning fire raged through four Mount Pleasant businesses. Page 6
By Molly Hulsey
Future planning
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Faced with the nation’s COVID-19 fatalies, life insurance sales soared. Page 14
Economic export
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Financial Services............... 13 List: Credit Unions............... 16 Bonus List: Accounting Firms................ 17 At Work............................... 19 Viewpoint............................23
See CAFÉ, Page 10
FAA scrutiny slows delivery of SC 787s
A Sunday morning buzzed with boaters launching out of W.O. Thomas Jr. Boat Landing. (Photo/Teri Errico Griffis)
How the Palmetto State’s economy depends on exported goods. Page 3
ed offering dinner because that’s what our neighbors and the market were telling us we needed to serve.” With a transition to later meals, calling themselves a café no longer fit. Fallert decided if the eatery would undergo a menu change and a name change, she might as well address the physical changes she’d been yearning to
MARITIME
MOMENTUM
South Carolina’s boat manufacturers can’t produce enough products to meet unending demand after people realized the safest place during a health crisis might be on the water. Page 8
Marvel on wheels
BMW brings S.C.-manufactured vehicle to the big screen in summer action film. Page 3
mhulsey@scbiznews.com
oeing’s troubles didn’t end with an uptick in air travel this summer, but the company says recent Federal Aviation Administration directives are not as alarming as headlines might suggest. Over a week of FAA scrutiny, Boeing slowed production of North Charleston’s 787 Dreamliner program to rework production flaws: gaps a 1,000th of an inch in the plane’s skin and forward pressure bulkhead, where the body of the plane fuses with the nose. The order impacts 100 jets-in-waiting at the company’s South Carolina and Washington facilities. And with attention and resources redirected toward repair and rework, the company will cut this year’s 787 production by half and temporarily reduce monthly output to fewer than five jets per month. Boeing’s three Dreamliner models, including the 787-8, -9 and -10 are produced at the company’s North Charleston campus. By the end of the week, the FAA had also directed operators of 737 jets to test altitude pressure See BOEING, Page 11