Town Square Olive Oil & Wine of North Augusta held its grand opening Thursday evening.
A host of guests and local leaders attended the event, coordinated by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, to congratulate the new gourmet grocer.
Presenters and attendees included Mayor Briton Williams, Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker, North Augusta Chamber board chair Don White and S.C. State Representative Bill Hixon.
“This is an example of when a lot of things come together,” said Williams, lauding the owners, Joey and Tia Harville, as “a young couple that loves their community and said ‘hey, we’re going to invest in it.’”
The Harvilles opened the store on Aug. 29, having renovated the Georgia Avenue storefront space that once housed Affordable Cash Loan payday center into an upscale market with some 30 varieties of olive oils and vinegars.
Choice meats, such as Angus ribeye, wild caught mahi-mahi and yellowfin tuna, craft beers, imported wines, specialty sauces, soup mixes and even gourmet snacks are among the selections along the store’s aisles.
“We expected that it would start off really slow, but it hasn’t,” said Tia Harville, noting most of the store’s marketing has comprised of social media posts.
She attributes many of the shop’s regulars to walking traffic.
“People that live in the area,” she said. “They’re right next door and then they walk down here every couple of days and buy wine or cheeses. A lot of now a lot of them are buying their steaks and such here, too.”
Town Square Olive Oil & Wine is the sister store of the original grocer of the same name in Covington, Ga., founded there some nine years ago by Joey Harville’s aunt, Cindy Mask.
“Covington was kind like North Augusta… tourism and foot traffic was really starting to build, and we needed an anchor,” said Mask on opening the original store, with the goal to “open a destination” in Covington.
The Harvilles are no strangers to the food and beverage industry, having once operated a seafood concept in Summerville, S.C.
Returning to the hospitality business, along with the facilitating fellowship and good company, more so than a concept around olive oil and fine wines, were what drew the couple to ultimately follow Mask’s suggestion to open a new version of the store, says Joey Harville.
“Being in business, serving the community with something unique in the market, that’s good for them, and good tasting as well,” he said.
Town Square Olive Oil & Wine is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays, at 509 Georgia Ave. in North Augusta.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
