New businesses opening across area

Restaurants, an organic grocery store and a store offering relief for weary backs are among the businesses opening in Columbia County.

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On Monday, Evans resident Juan Thompson plans to open Patagonia Grill, a Chilean and Argentinian restaurant on Washington Road at Liberty Square, in Evans. Thompson, a native of Chile and longtime resident of the area, said dining at Patagonia will be a cultural experience.

"We're giving Americans a little taste of South America," he said. South American cuisine, he said, is distinct from the familiar Tex-Mex offerings.

The menu will feature empanadas and other pastries, steaks and other fresh grilled meats with flavorful Argentinian sauces. The restaurant will also have a full bar featuring South American wine.

A former Winn-Dixie store at Baston and Furys Ferry roads will soon be the home of an organic grocer, company officials said. Asheville, N.C.-based Earth Fare plans to open a 35,000-square-foot market this summer, said Jim St. Charles, a vice president for the company.

The chain is similar to The Fresh Market, which has a store on Washington Road in Augusta. It specializes in fresh and packaged natural and organic foods. The facade of the store will be remodeled for the new business, St. Charles said.

In Grovetown, Kevin Woods recently opened Hulladawgs, a Hawaiian-theme burger and sandwich restaurant on Wrightsboro Road.

Woods, who is originally from Albany, Ga., said friends told him he was a good cook and so he decided to open a restaurant to provide another dining option in Grovetown.

"I just wanted to bring something different out here," he said.

In Evans, Relax the Back, a retailer of more than 300 back pain and sleep-discomfort relief products, has plans to open a store Monday on Town Park Boulevard, on North Belair Road, according to a news release from the company.

Relax the Back's products include: Tempur-pedic mattresses and pillows, massage chairs and stress-free recliners, exercise equipment and children's backpacks.

Also open or set to open soon in Columbia County are: Goolsby's of Evans, a restaurant in Liberty Square; GT's Package Store on Wrightsboro Road in Grovetown; and Gator Creek, which replaces Teresita's Cuisine on Towne Centre Drive in Evans.

Staff Writer Laura Youngs contributed to this article.