Wedding & Event Venue near Florence, SC

FLORENCE — Local leaders are looking at the Pee Dee’s electric vehicle battery plant expansion hold as an opportunity to catch up.

Japan-based Envision Automotive Energy Supply Co. paused an expansion of its plant less than a year after announcing a second campus that would have been a $1.5 billion investment and would have added an additional 1,080 jobs in Florence County.

The S.C. Fiscal Accountability Authority on Feb. 4 pulled $111 million in bonds it had set aside for Facility 2, or phase three, of the plant.

The company is moving forward with phases one and two of the project, which include a $1.6 billion battery factory that will employ 1,620 people at full capacity. The facility is located at the Florence business park.

With more than 1,000 jobs all but slashed with the halt of phase three, local leaders say the pause will give the city and county time to catch up on the growth Florence is already experiencing.

“We are experiencing, already, growth problems. This gives us an opportunity to catch up,” Florence Mayor Lethonia “Peaches” Barnes said.

While AESC will provide 1,080 fewer jobs than it announced nearly a year ago, Florence County Economic Development Partnership CEO Gregg Robinson said the manufacturer had not yet committed to phase three. None of the money from the state was spent on the second facility.

“We got commitments from the state, and then the company decided not to utilize those commitments,” Robinson said.

Florence Mayor Lethonia “Peaches” Barnes said the pause is just that — a pause. She said there are already plenty of jobs to fill with just phases one and two of the project.

The pause gives the city time to build more homes and address needs with roads and other infrastructure, Barnes said.

The city and county have approved subdivision after subdivision to accommodate the area’s projected growth. The county approved a sketch plan for nearly 1,000 homes in East Florence in December and in January, approved another sketch plan for nearly 200 homes in Quinby, just a four-minute drive from the new battery plant.

The pause doesn’t impact any of the city’s investments, City Manager Scotty Davis said, because all of the funding it put forth was associated with phase one.

County Council Chairman William Schofield said the pause on more than 1,000 Florence County jobs doesn’t change the way he’s looking at the growth of the county. He sees both AESC’s investment in phases one and two and investments from companies like Cheney Brothers as indicators of growth.

He and County Administrator Kevin Yokim said the pause also doesn’t change any of the county’s plans. Rather, it gives the county more time to prepare for the facility and the potential return of AESC’s phase three.

The hold gives the county the ability to plan for new roads and water and sewer upgrades that will come with the arrival of AESC, Robinson said.

“It allows us to be a little more proactive with the infrastructure. When you grow very fast, it's hard to keep up sometimes,” Schofield said.

AESC had not begun hiring for Facility 2, AESC Chief Communications Officer Raj Shah said.

“Should the project be restarted, AESC would have to refine a new construction, hiring, training and production schedule in consultation with local officials and our customers,” he said in an email to The Post and Courier.

Facility 1 is still on schedule to begin production next year, Shah said.

South Carolina has spent billions on bringing the electric vehicle industry to the state. While Gov. Henry McMaster has made the electric vehicle battery industry a part of his economic development plan, President Donald Trump has started to do away with incentives for clean energy in South Carolina.

Robinson said the market will dictate sales and production and they could eventually return to phase three.

“(AESC) would rather wait and be 100 percent committed than go into a third phase when they haven't even finished phase one and two,” Robinson said. “And I commend them for that.”

FLORENCE — Elliott Moss’ first memories of barbecue are from when his family would smoke whole hogs for the holidays when he was a little kid.

Those memories stuck with him as he moved into the fine dining world, bringing his roots with him as he became a renowned chef.

Moss is most known for his work at The Admiral and Buxton Hall in Asheville, N.C. Buxton Hall was named Bon Appétit magazine’s top new barbecue joint in America in 2016 and became a well-regarded North Carolina restaurant before Moss departed in 2022.

It’s been nearly a year since the James Beard Award-nominated chef moved back home to Florence to open a new restaurant inside Seminar Brewing.

Now, Elliott’s BBQ Lounge and a revamped Seminar Brewing are officially open at 551 W. Lucas St., offering whole-hog barbecue and craft brews.

“I’m just real excited to be home,” Moss said.

Moss was born and raised in Florence. His first jobs included picking pecans from his yard to sell to Young’s pecan plant, working at just about every Chick-fil-A in town and serving at Stefano’s, where they let him cook on the line from time to time, he said.

When Tim Norwood, owner of Victors in Florence, approached Moss about opening a restaurant inside Seminar, he and his wife relocated to Florence to make it happen.

Renovations have been underway since last summer, but Seminar has remained open throughout the process.

The space has been revamped to add garage doors, more outdoor space, a redesigned parking lot, new lighting and a 23-foot-long charcoal-fed barbecue pit that can hold up to seven hogs at a time.

Moss’s connection to Florence is woven into the restaurant’s details.

The building that housed his grandfather’s former oil and lubricant business, American Industries, still sits a few doors down from the restaurant on Lucas Street. Seminar’s new logo, an eagle sitting on top of barrels of beer, pays homage to American Industries, which used an eagle sitting on oil drums.

A miniature record store sits in the center of the restaurant. Moss started a mail order record distribution label 28 years ago in Florence. Now, customers can peruse the small record collection before indulging in whole-hog barbecue or trying a new brew.

One of the goals of the new venture is to grow the beer alongside the barbecue. On top of developing Elliott’s, Moss said they plan to expand Seminar’s distribution throughout the state and devote more attention to canned beer.

Moss hopes to cater to all of Florence — longtime residents and recent transplants alike.

“Some of them are hungry for something different, and we're trying to give something a little different but familiar at the same time,” Moss said.

The menu at Elliott’s is part of what might feel familiar to people in Florence. Moss said his ideas and recipes come straight from the Pee Dee, passed down from grandparents — with a few twists added here and there.

Customers can expect barbecue, ribs and chicken, but the menu will also rotate regularly. Moss wants Elliott’s to be known as a place where you can go to get a good plate of barbecue and chef-driven sides, but he wants to experiment along the way as well.

“I like to evolve just personally and professionally. With all the other places I've done in the past, they've always kind of changed a little bit over the years,” Moss said. “I don't think that this will be much different.”

One of his hopes is that Elliott’s and Seminar will help people discover all the other food Florence and the Pee Dee have to offer.

“I think we all provide a little interesting culinary destination here,” Moss said. “I'm happy to be a part of it and help grow it.”

Seminar was Florence’s first modern-day craft brewery. It was already a community jewel when Norwood and Cooper Thomas purchased it last year, Norwood said at the restaurant’s ribbon cutting.

Part of the goal of the new venture is to retain Seminar’s identity as the first of its kind in the Pee Dee while blending it with Moss’s new whole-hog barbecue spot.

“We believe Seminar and Elliott's are ready to be the centerpiece of Florence and the Pee Dee,” Norwood said at the ribbon cutting. “It matters deeply to me that our businesses are knitted into the fabric of this community.”

The Admiral in Asheville, N.C. was essentially a South Carolina barbecue joint, Moss said at the ribbon cutting. He served up whole hog, catfish stew, hushpuppies and chicken bog. Tourists would come through, having no idea what chicken bog was.

But people in Florence know exactly what it is, Moss said.

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Abby Ann Ramsey

Abby Ann Ramsey covers Florence and the Pee Dee for The Post and Courier. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville before moving to South Carolina.

FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) — Christopher and James Nowlin said 34 acres of their family's land, which has been passed down from generation to generation, was wrongfully sold from under them.

The brothers filed a lawsuit last January to get back the land, but said they're trying to reach an agreement with Florence County for several years.

“It is very important to the family. My great-grandfather worked hard on the land. And it was very hurting the way we found out how they took the land from us," said Christopher Nowlin.

I just don’t file no lawsuits. No frivolous lawsuit and play silly games," said James Nowlin. "When me and my brother do anything, we do our research. And have adequate documentation to support everything.

Court records show a notice of a levy on the land was mailed to an address on Savannah Grove Road in Florence County in May of 2018, but the certified notice was unclaimed.

The property was then levied that August and advertised in the paper the following month.

Records show it sold for $11,000 in October of 2018 at a tax sale.

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However, records show a redemption notice for the owners to get the land back was sent to the same address in September of 2018 but wasn't redeemed.

The Nowlins say a Florence County tax collector didn't have the proper heirs to the property when all the notices were sent.

"It wasn’t right, you know if, proper heirs weren’t notified. You know, we are talking about 34 acres in which my great granddaddy, you know, had the land. From generations, and worked on it. And just to be sold for on negligence on behalf of the county. That’s basically what it was," said James Nowlin.

Florence County Administrator Kim Yokim said they couldn't speak on the lawsuit, but court records show they deny the allegations.

The Nowlins said that's ok; they're not giving up.

They can deny anything that they want," said James Nowlin. "But black and white does not lie.

The brothers added that the property became delinquent with taxes after their aunt, who handled matters with the land, got very sick.

The lawsuit has been referred to the Florence County Master-in-equity, who could make the final ruling in the case.

ABC15 reached out to the company that bought the land at the tax sale, as their named in the lawsuit as well, but was told to call their attorney.

We did and are waiting back to hear from him.

The South Carolina High School League’s state basketball championship games begin Thursday and ran through Friday at the Florence Center.

Here are the results and box scores and links to stories from the championship games.

At Florence Center

——Thursday, March 6——

Class A girls championship: Military Magnet 59, Lee Central 40

MM: Brown 4, Dream Watson 16, Davis 4, Willis 4, Da’nariyah Williams 18, Sabri Mitchell 11, Wilson 2. LC: Kiyonna Austin 12, Holmes 7, Williams 2, Reames 5, Hopkins 5, Dennis 4, Slater 5.

Class A boys championship: Denmark-Olar 58, Abbeville 52

A: Jaylen Baylor 3, Patterson 6, Jaden Baylor 15, Riley 3, Rollinson 9, Jamearion Williams 14, Ferguson 2. D-O: Bovain 8, Joshua Goodman 28, Tykeem Ross 12, Nimmons 4, Hinton 6.

Class A Boys Championship @OlarMbb 58Abbeville 52FinalVikings win 1st state title and comes in Hercules Davis final game as coach. Very emotional moment for Davis pic.twitter.com/18bpJ3PaIZ

— Lou Bezjak (@LouatTheState) March 6, 2025

Class 3A girls championship: Walhalla 52, Dillon 37

W: Annie Campbell 13, Kami Roach 10, Ortiz 9, Frick 2, Chappell 4, Miley White 14. D: McKinnon 9, Lester 7, McGill 1, Treasure Davis 18, Ford 2.

Class 3A boys championship: Keenan 58, Powdersville 53

P: Kreger 4, Jaleel McGee 15, Williams 2, Quan Burton 13, Von Burton 19. K: Brian Sumpter 10, Antoine Caughman 17, Anderson 4, Nyheim McNeil 15, Brunson 9, Simmons 3.

——Friday, March 7 ——

Class 4A girls championship: North Augusta 50, Westside 37

NA: Williams 7, McCain 8, Wright 4, Celena Grant 17, Ashley Walker 10, Davis 4. W: Paul 3, Khalia Hartwell 21, Clinkscales 4, Randolph 5, Marshall 2. Boggs 2.

Class 4A boys championship: Lancaster 69, North Augusta 55

NA: Jamison McKenzie 21, Rouse 2, Nabriat 6, Da’Ron Dunbar 16, Quh’mareon Webb 10. L: Jordan Watford 19, Columbus Parker 19, Brown 3, Jacarey Ballard 13, Malik Tinsley 15.

Class 5A Division I girls championship: Blythewood 62, Summerville 56

B: India Williams 22, Chase Thomas 18, Hayley Hightower 11, Bosmans 9, Guerrero 2. S -Molly Daughtery 22, Cailah Tucker 18, Bennett 5, E. Daughtry 4, Thomas 3, Grant 2, Lavassar 2.

Class 5A Division I boys championship: Ridge View 71, vs. Blythewood 47

RV: Korie Corbett 23, Yale Davis 13, Cooper 9, Staley 8, Wylie 7, B. Mack 5, R. Mack 3, VanKallen 2, Smith 1. B: TJ Lewis 17, Stephens 6, Sims 6, Jones 5, Little 5, Mack 4, Major 2, Bandini 2.

——Saturday, March 8——

Class 2A girls championship: Andrew Jackson 89, Eau Claire 36

EC: MiLayshia Chisholm 16, Bethel 5, Tiller 4, Motley 2, Demas 7, Cyrus 2. AJ: Delly 2, Shropshire 6, Tamia Watkins 31, Ni’Yonna Asbelle 30, Emiley McCall 10, Knox 6, Marcum 3, Fair 1.

Class 2A boys championship: Atlantic Collegiate 58, High Point Academy 52

HP: Sanders 6, Chonci Miller 10, Travis Morman 16, Jaden McNeil 11, Jones 1, Copeland 8. AC: Hemingway 9, Jamie Brooks 14, Daniels 3, Justin Bellamy 5, Lee 7.

Class 5A Division II girls championship: Berkeley 60, Greenwood 54

G: Tykirea Johnson 14, Fuller 2, Cameron Oliver 13, Danielle Oliver 22, Carroll 2, A. Johnson 1. B: Amani McCray 15, Madison Thomas 15, Alaina Carter 13, Moses 7, Gray 6, Madison-Ladson 1, Levey 3.

Class 5A Division II boys championship: Greenville 81, Goose Creek 71 (2 OT)

G: Franklin Whitley 25, Roman Cooley 13, Thompkins 3, Caden Coleman 21, Tucker Scholl 11, Griffin 2, Deaver 6. GC: Shane Potts 29, Langworthy 6, JaQuell Brown 27, Johnson 7, Dozier 2.

This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 10:18 PM.

FLORENCE — A Florence native who goes to school at the College of Charleston joined Adam Levine’s team after earning a four-chair turn on the Season 27 premiere of “The Voice.”

Grace-Miller Moody, a 20-year-old from Florence, sang Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning” during the blind auditions. Her performance compelled all four judges to turn their chairs less than 30 seconds into the song.

Moody said on the show she chose to sing the song because Maroon 5 is special to her family.

Her brother, Shott Moody, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 7 and went through chemotherapy for four years. Moody said that took a toll on her family.

Once Shott’s health improved, the family went to a Maroon 5 concert in Las Vegas.

"It brought us back together after Shott was hospitalized, so it would be a beautiful full-circle moment to see Adam Levine turn his chair," Moody said on the show.

Levine was the last judge to turn his chair. Michael Bublé turned around first, followed by John Legend and Kelsea Ballerini.

Levine, who returned to the show after a five-year hiatus, doesn’t usually pick singers who perform Maroon 5 songs, Ballerini said on the show.

“Adam notoriously does not turn for his own songs, so you have broken the code,” Ballerini said after Moody’s audition.

Because all four judges turned their chairs for Moody, each celebrity singer tried to convince her to join their team. The Maroon 5 fan went with Team Adam.

“There was just something about you, what you were doing, that was so infectious and so lovable and soulful, you can absolutely go all the way and win this thing,” Levine said.

Moody said she wouldn’t be on "The Voice" if it weren’t for the support of her family, who joined her at the audition.

“It was a long battle but I'm here now and I’m thankful to be seeing her sing today,” Shott Moody said on the show.

Another South Carolinian was on Season 26 of "The Voice." A 61-year-old flight attendant from Little River, Gail Bliss joined Snoop Dogg's team and was eliminated in the battle rounds.

Bliss and her fellow Team Snoop singers are reuniting for a night of country music in North Myrtle Beach on Feb. 8.

Season 27 of “The Voice” will air on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. Episodes are also available to stream on Peacock the next day.