1/4/07

We’re Here!
Manning Times kicks off New Year with new digs
By Brian Jarvis

CHRIS BULLARD/Manning Times
From newspaper staff to Custom Construction crew to landlords, the first day of operation in the new Manning Times facility was an exciting day. The 125-year-old newspaper made the move from its longtime home at 4 South Brooks Street to its new home at 8 North Brooks Street.

Anyone who walks up to the front door of The Manning Times office on South Brooks Street and finds it locked need not worry; Clarendon County’s venerable weekly newspaper has merely moved up the block.

Together with business partner Jeffrey Black, Manning Times publisher Cleve Dowell purchased the Central Coffee Shop and adjacent liquor store last year and began the arduous process of renovation that wasn’t complete until last week – just in time for 2007.

“Clarendon County is a growing, happening place and we’re growing right along with it,” said Dowell, who noted that both the size of his staff as well as revenues have tripled during his seven-year tenure. “I’ve been in the business thirty years and this is the first time I’ve had everything I need the way I need it.”

Calling it the next step of Manning’s recent downtown renovation that began with Jeffrey Black’s stylish Studio 1916 and continued with the revamped law firm of Johnson, McKenzie & Robinson, Dowell said that he hopes to see other businesses follow suit.

“I think it’s neat that The Manning Times, which is Clarendon County’s oldest business, occupied the Central Coffee Shop – which was the second oldest business in the county – and transformed the building into a beautiful newspaper office,” said Dowell, who recognized architect Frank Weaver and Custom Construction owner Jamie Ridgeway for their assistance.

“Frank and Jamie listened to our needs in the workplace and created a beautiful and functional home for The Manning Times,” Dowell said. “Jamie recognized the character traits in the building and preserved them. This is the perfect home for Clarendon County’s newspaper.”

Dowell and Black also had nothing but praise for Central Coffee Shop’s previous owners, George and Penny Metropol, who were honored with tributes throughout 2006 including a farewell reception that attracted both local and state dignitaries as well as television cameras.

“The Coffee Shop and the Metropol family are such landmarks of Clarendon County and I wanted to make sure the building was protected with something that would make them very proud by paying tribute to the past,” said Black. “When I learned The Manning Times was looking for new offices, I thought this could be the perfect match. We plan to include a sidewalk museum in the front window with Coffee Shop memorabilia inside paying tribute to the great and rich history that was there all those years ago.”

Aside from its fresh interiors that still smell like springtime – for a few more days, anyway – the launch of The Manning Times’ new offices coincides nicely with the newspaper’s 125th anniversary – aka a “quasquicentennial” – that will lead to a range of celebratory events throughout 2007.

“I like having The Manning Times right on Main Street,” Dowell said. “It’s where the newspaper needs to be.”