First Wednesday at Fish

June First Wednesday at Fish

Linda Hancock, L & H Merchant Services, advised a regular review of credit card rates to insure that all federally mandated reductions have been applied. She also passed along tips from CPA firm Dixon Hughes Goodman, to be continued next month.

Businesses profiled at First Wednesday:
Vinson Blanton, SieMatic Charleston, who brought SieMatic's fabulous kitchen books for everyone.

Jesse Lynn Nersesian, Salt & Seaweed, who wore cool clothes from her own beachy collection.

Phillis Kalisky Mair, Patat Spot Friet & Falafel, who made everyone hungry describing her natural and hand prepared falafel, salads, fries and sauces. Click on links for more info.

Margie Seabrook, Business Solutions Specialist at the U.S. Postal Service introduced the post office's brilliant new program, Every Door Direct Mail. No mailing lists, annual fees or postage permits, just pinpoint neighborhood targeting for delivery of your promotional pieces. Call Margie at 803-926-6332 for a free consultation, or email margie.l.seabrook@usps.gov.

Amelia Shields, former buyer, manager and organizer extraordinaire at Max Jerome, is back in Charleston and looking for a job. Email amelia@ameliashields.com.

Graham Ervin, College of Charleston graduate who recently completed a Masters at UGA is looking for a position in the hospitality industry.

Looking for a spot on the agenda? Email susan@kingstreetmarketinggroup.com.

Read the whole newsletter here. See you next month!

May First Wednesday at Fish

Linda Hancock, L & H Merchant Services, told us how to avoid fees, reduce liabilities and receive money for credit card purchases the morning after batching --even from American Express! Neely Powell's Charleston Shoe Company is opening a second site at the City Market, along with Caviar & Bananas, Charleston Angler and other successful Peninsula businesses. She talked about building her business, growing her lines and wholesaling her shoes in almost 100 shops nationwide. Carlye Jane Dougherty, Brad Norton and Brian Lewis of Heirloom Book Company talked about their shop that has Lower King Street and the whole region buzzing. Heirloom Book Co. has a huge collection of books about food and wine--many rare--a fabulous garden shop and lots of special events in the works. Ellen Dressler Moryl left packages for Piccolo Spoleto. Go get your tickets; events are selling out for both Piccolo and Spoleto. Purchase tickets for Spoleto USA here. Enjoy the Spoleto visitors and traffic. Vail Duggin talk about Michael Mitchell's Art for Charity events May 20 - June 20 featuring original work from more than 30 regional artists with proceeds from sold artwork benefiting six local non-profit organizations Lorna Shelton Beck invited everyone to the  Charleston Carifest Caribbean Carnival, a growing annual celebration of Carribbean culture June 17-18. Speaking of growing festivals, Ron Krauskopf announced that Charleston International Film Festival May 18-22 has grown to include viewings at The American Theatre, the Hippodrome and Mt. Pleasant's Cinnebarre.  More details here. Matthew Bees, Niche Interiors at 163 King Street, is an Alabama native with many ties to the people and neighborhoods recently destroyed by tornadoes. Since hanging an Alabama flag in front of his store, "A lot of people have come in who recognize it, and they immediately have a story," Matthew is collecting donations  for the Alabama Governors Emergency Fund. More details here. Amber from Aqua Day Salon and Nails invited everyone to the recently opened shop at 401 King Street to tour the full service Salon and Spa. Sara Meyer, formerly of Maine Cottage, is job hunting. Many long-time King Street folks know Sara who was in charge of the Charleston and Miami Beach Maine Cottage Stores. Email Sara at smmyer@bellsouth.net. Great crowd, great speakers, relevant topics. Mark your calendar for June 1 and join us at the next First Wednesday at Fish.

March First Wednesday at Fish

King Street Gives Keep an eye out for College of Charleston students who will be approaching shops and restaurants for support for the annual Daughters of St. Paul Victorian Chari-TEA at the Pauline Books and Media Center. Each year the students acknowledge the help and support they receive from The Daughters by putting on this fund raiser.   VIP Passports · Family Circle Cup Players and VIP's · Cooper River Bridge Run Sponsors and VIP's "I wouldn't know where to shop without this," said one Renaissance Weekend attendee to the District Manager at Banana Republic. Email Susan if you're not in the Passports but want to be. Special offers are nice but not necessary.   Clean Your Charleston Sidewalks Rodney James, G and R Services, will give great rates to multiple businesses who get their sidewalks cleaned at the same time. 843.343.5483 or email rodney@gandrservices.com. Our friendly Code Enforcement Officer Angela Greene will thank you for it. 2nd Sunday New printed piece combines map with parking voucher, distributed during the week before as a reminder, and can be downloaded at www.2ndsundayonkingstreet.com. New guidelines coming. Upper King Street is included in all promotional materials. Worth Repeating: Parking Awareness If you're not telling your customers where to park, you're missing business. If you're not offering Parking With Purchase or another form of parking incentive, you're missing a valuable customer service opportunity. Download the Parking Garage map here. Email Susan to publish your parking information online FREE. Carta Awareness While you're educating your customers about parking, remember the other new downtown perk--FREE Dash buses! Download route info here.    College of Charleston Traffic CofC will have many visitors on campus March 18-20 for Accepted Students Day, with more pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Families will begin to arrive on Friday and leave on Sunday. Most of the activity will take place on Saturday.

February First Wednesday at Fish

SEWE 2011   Posters were distributed and King Street Stroll information discussed. No formal window contest this year, but if you "do" your windows, call Susan for a photograph and PR. When You Want Out Domicile Charleston's Jennifer Davis explained that she works with clients who are looking for King Street locations and willing to buy out existing leases. While we don't want to lose any of our peninsula businesses, sometimes it's time, and lease buyout is an option. A few months ago we talked about another helpful option, funding for struggling businesses through the Charleston LDC. Carta DASH Free Carta DASH buses are increasingly popular on the peninsula, but many of your customers don't know about them. We'll secure materials you can offer in your shop, but in the meantime tell your tired customers about the Meeting/King DASH, the closest bus stop and that it's free to ride. They'll thank you, and ridership continue to climb. Win-win! Parking Awareness If you're not telling your customers where to park, you're missing business. If you're not offering Parking With Purchase or another form of parking incentive, you're missing a valuable customer service opportunity. Download the Parking Garage map here. Email Susan to publish your parking information online FREE. Slicker, Carta and YOU Tommy Dew joined us to tell how you can load information on Slicker FREE, and visitors with smartphones will see it on their tour of Charleston. Now, there's a prototype kiosk and big screen on one of the three DASH buses that can show riders your information as the bus approaches you. KSMG will load 2nd Sunday and other calendar information on the pilot program. Join us, won't you? Contact Mary Kendrick Lewis or Andrew Hollowell at Slicker for info. Events and Opportunities You can design a table at the Charleston Ballet Oscar Gala, contact Angharad Jones for details, it's FREE and fabulous! Sponsor 2nd Sunday on King Street: More information here. Brandin DuBos at the City Paper put together a great 2nd Sunday collaborative ad that will run each month, and you can participate for just $20. That's not a typo! See the ad here, and email Brandin.

January First Wednesday at SieMatic

January's First Wednesday was packed with great information.

• The Invitation
• 2nd Sunday on King Street Survey responses
• Wayfinding Project
• How did King Street and Charleston Peninsula shops and restaurants fare during the holidays?
• Upcoming SEWE events

Read more here.

August First Wednesday at Fish

At our last First Wednesday... August Minutes Our favorite 3-minute speaker, Kyle Barnette of the Charleston Ballet Company announced his non-ballet production, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Hedwig performed at the American Theater last weekend to rave reviews. Tim Keane, Director of Planning, Preservation and Sustainability announced the City's support of a monthly King Street event. Particulars are in the works; more to come. A business hospitality program is taking shape and all Charleston Peninsula Businesses will be eligible for annual recognition and publicity by KSMG and a highly placed government official who, until the program is announced, we will refer to as "Joe". More to come on this. Also in the planning stages: · A database of stakeholders to receive and reinforce the message of King Street and positively influence our future · Retention and recruitment strategy for desirable businesses on King Street and the Charleston Peninsula · More programs to attract area shoppers downtown How will you hear about these exciting programs? At First Wednesday at Fish! Join us September 1, 6:30, 442 King Street. It's not just about King Street... really! Let's Do Lunch in Charleston August 20 at Fish Restaurant is already sold out! Members profiled at Let's Do Lunch include Bob Ellis Shoes, Croghan's, Hampden Clothing, Bits of Lace, Dumas, LESESNE, Cupcake, Seeking Indigo, Butterfly, Twenty Six Divine, Christophe Chocolatier, King Street Kitchen Company, SieMatic and many others. Contact Susan if you're interested in participating. KSMG's very first Monday Away for members of the Harbour Club brought thirty diners to Carolina's last Monday evening and success was declared all around. Next Monday Away will be at La Fourchette August 23, and will include an Upper King shopping event. If you're a KSMG restaurant member, contact Susan to schedule your Monday Away. VIP Passport: Special group from Kiawah coming up next, followed by the Nationwide PGA Tour Passport in October. And you thought you couldn't afford PGA advertising! Eric Bergman presented the City's Green Business Challenge. Register to enjoy better energy efficiency and savings, and get recognized for it. For more information, visit www.charlestongbc.com. Dr. Brian Dewhirst talked about The D'Vine Affair, the annual fundraiser for local arthritis research, and distributed Tate Nation's great posters for our windows. Go to www.dvineaffair.org to donate auction items, or email Dr. Bryan for more info. Artist Jeffrey Kennedy's D2L Ants are Marching Down King Street... and Broad! Join us to celebrate Darkness to Light's Awareness Month at Happy Hour, August 19 5-7 PM at Il Cortile del Re, or August 26 at Blind Tiger. Restaurant Week is coming up. Are you a member of the Charleston Restaurant Association? Many members posted their biggest weeks ever at Restaurant Week in January. Until next month,   Susan Lucas

June First Wednesday at Fish Minutes

Dr. Bing Pan, Head of Research in the College of Charleston Office of Tourism Analysis profiled the Charleston Tourist dispelling widely believed myths that Charleston tourists are low-income, low-educated retirees from Ohio. Dr. Pan's extensive research details that Charleston visitors: Are among the most affluent in the U.S. with 75% having a household income (HHI) greater than the Median U.S. HHI. 70% are college grads and 32% have graduate and doctoral degrees The majority are still employed or own their own businesses The majority of our tourists come from upstate SC, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida (Only 5% come from Ohio.) Dr. Pan's research is a fascinating report (74 pages of real data) with details all downtown businesses should utilize. For the complete report or a copy of Dr. Pan's slides, email panb@cofc.edu. Our first Let's Do Lunch event at Halls Chophouse was a sold-out success as 96 diners enjoyed the Hall Family hospitality and Chef Matthew Neissner's cuisine, setting the bar high for our future events. The next Let's Do Lunch is June 25 at Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar. Email or call Susan at 843.303.1113 to participate in the Goodie Bag, contribute a Raffle Prize or be listed as a sponsor of the event. Tate Nation, the designer of 2010 Piccolo Spoleto Poster, joined us, discussed his work and signed prints of the poster. This is the second time Tate has won the poster design competition. KSMG's newest member benefit is a partnership with The Harbour Club. Membership Director Lee Wilkes talked about the club and its 2,000 members who will now see our businesses on their website and receive promotions from KSMG members. Call or email Susan if you'd like to extend a discount, gift or other attention-getting promotion to members of this prestigious club. The Spoleto Stroll was held Friday June 4.Thanks to Spoleto musicians Toma Iliev, Tudor Dornescu and Arturo Ziraldo, Piccolo musicians Philip Lipton and Diego Villena and the Charleston Barbershop Chorus for providing street entertainment for the event. From 5:00 to 8:00 PM Upper King was described as "New Year's Eve," and Middle King and Broad Street as "pleasantly brisk." Unfortunately Lower King lacked participation, but Mary Helen McCoy's display of John Dunnan's art was excellent and continues through this week. The Real Estate Studio had a rocking party as well. Cudos to Bob Ellis Shoes and Mary Porter House of Couture for winning the Spoleto Window Contest. Attorneys Wendy Keefer and Aarati Doddanna spoke about new developments in Immigration and Health Care Reform and the current and potential effects on the hospitality industry. On June 22 Fish Restaurant will host an evening discussion of these topics. If you would like to attend, RSVP to Elizabeth Kitchen, Director of PR, elizabeth@patpropllc.com   Greg Pressley introduced Third Cup Charleston, a literacy initiative with The Mayor's Office for Children, Youth and Families, the College of Charleston, Charleston County School District and others. Third Cup needs help purchasing 3,000 copies of the inspiring book Three Cups of Tea that volunteers will read to Charleston's school children. You can help... buy a book, ask your customers to buy a book or become a corporate sponsor for the project. Call Greg at 678.296.9639 or email him. David Desplaces CofC Asst. Professor of Global Commerce, introduced a very unique fund-raising project for Possibilities Without Borders.They are in the process of producing The Charleston Monopoly Game. This is a licensed game and you can have your store, restaurant or hotel be on the game board. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor by purchasing a spot on the board, call David at 843.566.5640 or email him.   On the topic of Saks Leaving and Forever 21 Coming to King Street... Randall Goldman, Managing Partner for Patrick Properties, made an impassioned plea to all businesses to keep their standards high. The authenticity of Charleston is not cheap, nor should our message be. Thanks to everyone for participating in First Wednesday at Fish. Join us July 7 for another interesting, entertaining and informative hour on King Street. Susan

May First Wednesday at Fish

Randall Goldman discussed the Charleston County Council's vote on a Rental Car fee to subsidize attracting a low-fare airline to Charleston. He cited lower wedding guest numbers due to high airline fares, and the willingness of travelers to have events in their second and third choice locations because airfares are cheaper. Click here to download excerpts from a letter from Helen Hill, Executive Director of the Charleston Convention and Visitor Center. It includes names and email addresses of the County Council. Please express your support by contacting the Council members soon and often. Susan will circulate a letter you can sign as well. Angela Green, our "Friendly Code Enforcement Officer" with the City of Charleston, reminded everyone that it is their responsibility to keep sidewalks clean in front of their businesses. She presented awards to Patrick Properties, Seeking Indigo, Halls Chophouse, the CVB, College of Charleston and others. We appreciate Angela's warmth and humor about a serious topic, our clean and beautiful City. We talked about the new Let's Do Lunch events which to showcase King Street and Charleston Peninsula shops, showrooms, spas and restaurants each month, and benefit local nonprofits. All KSMG Members are invited to participate in Let's Do Lunch as sponsors by 1) supplying a goodie bag or raffle item, 2)  attending the luncheon and 3) speaking a few words about their business if they choose to. In most cases, winners must visit the shop, showroom, spa or restaurant within 30 days. We're looking for immediate, measurable results as well as a fun event. We thanked our friends Evie Nadel, College of Charleston, for sponsoring our latest VIP Passport to King Street for 2500 parents at orientation, and Byron Miller at the State Ports Authority for their AAPA and Greenport America group. Coming up, another round of VIP Passports for the Francis Marion Hotel. Caroline Maas, Paula Edwards and Chelsea Peabody told us about the Spoleto Window Contest's easy rules, great prizes and awards party at Halls Chophouse. They also unveiled the 2010 Spoleto Poster by National Vietnam Memorial Artist Maya Lin. There was a lot of head scratching, but Spoleto wouldn't be Spoleto without pushing the limits of art. Here are links to Window Contest information: Voting Poster, Entry Form, Invitation to Participate. Speaking of Spoleto, The Spoleto Stroll is June 4, 5-8:00 pm in shops and showrooms, 8:00-closing in restaurants and bars. Gallery Row and Broad Street businesses, KSMG and King Street Businesses, Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto will all participate in The Spoleto Stroll and publicize the event, so be sure to let me know if you want your business to be part of the evening. Everyone is invited. Artists and musicians will be available to help entertain and attract visitors. See The Twelve Important Elements of a Successful Event. They work! Tommy Dew of City Slicker told us about their success as an Apple Featured App with 20,000 downloads in a single week, making it the 4th most popular travel-related app after Google Earth, Urbanspoon (our www.charlestondiningdistrict.com is an official Urbanspoon blog) and Yelp. If you haven't registered with City Slicker, do it today. City Slicker is featured in the iPhone App Store as New & Noteworthy, getting attention and downloads from 80 countries worldwide. Here's the link to register. It's free! Last but definitely not least, Jamie Price and Kristin Walker talked about Do the Charleston, the event May 16 which will close King Street from Calhoun south to Clifford for a day of festivities. Go to www.dothecharleston.com for more information, and remember the Twelve Elements! Big thanks to Jamie, Kristin and their crew for this amazing accomplishment and what we hope will be the first of many wonderful events for our City. Thanks everyone for participating in First Wednesday at Fish. We hope you'll join us June 2 for another interesting, entertaining and informative hour. Susan

April First Wednesday at Fish

Jim Newsome, CEO of South Carolina State Ports Authority spoke about Charleston's cruise ship business and the interest we all have in it. Charleston has been in the cruise business for 30 years welcoming day travelers. Now that we have embarkations and debarkations, we have the opportunity to welcome cruise travelers to our hotels, restaurants, shops and tours a few days before they leave. And, we know they'll return to Charleston again and again.

VIP Passport to King Street

The VIP Passport to King Street for the Family Circle Cup players and VIP's was distributed last week. Next up: VIP Passports for 2500 College of Charleston Parents, distributed at Orientation May 1. The College of Charleston Parents Passport will not expire until 12/31/2010; be sure your listing and offer are appropriate for the group and duration.New in the Passport, a centerfold King Street Map with all participants listed and located for ease of use. Don't miss the opportunity to participate in this one if parents or students are your target customers.

Sarah Cothran, Manager of the Charleston Farmers Market, gave us some market insight and told about advertising opportunities in the Piccolo Spoleto Program. Download that information here.

More information to come on the Spoleto Stroll, involving Broad Street galleries and restaurants, all of King Street, Spoleto Festival USA, and Piccolo Spoleto. The event is June 4 from 5-8:00 pm.


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Upper King Design District Spring 2010 Design Walk Poster

Here's a rundown of some of the Upper King Design District Spring Design Walk activities, coming up this Thursday, April 15.

Have you invited your customers yet? Feel free to use the downloadable poster in your mailings, and go to "Ten Tips for a Successful Event" for a refresher

- Mayor Riley will open Design Walk at the corner of Radcliffe and King at around 5:00 PM
- Tommy Dew and the guys from Charleston City Slicker will preview their new iPad application, a GPS tour of Upper King
- King Street Kitchen Company will host Sea Island Habitat for Humanity who will exhibit information on their great Deconstruction Program. KSKC will also serve some cool refreshments and exhibit some cool cars from Baker Motor Company.
- Haute Design will host local artisan Justin Walling, an expert in stained and leaded glass, antique mirrors and general restoration know-how according to the Robb Report.
- LESESNE will host furniture designer Neal Van Dalen and preview Charleston's own Sideshow Press with their Spring collection of letterpress cards.
- Ellington will host artist Ani Lees.
- Jewelry designers Heather Key Tiller and Felice Killian will welcome guests at their respective studios, Filigree and Felice Designs.
- Acclaimed food writer Holly Herrick will be there to sign her latest cookbook, The Charleston Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Heart of the Old South at SieMatic.
- At Seeking Indigo, Franklyn Smith will do Intuitive Guidance Readings; you'll see pieces from Fashion Week runway show and tour the beautiful, serene Wellness Center.
- Dwelling booked DJ Sonar, and will have Charleston fave Christophe Chocolatier on site.
Lots more! Go to www.upperkingdesigndistrict.com for updates.

Click here to download a pdf of the Design Walk poster for your mailings, fliers, etc.

If you're not involved in Design Walk, but want to be, call me at 843.303.1113.

See you next month at First Wednesday at Fish. Your participation is important, we all appreciate it and we have such a good time when you're there.

Susan Lucas

March First Wednesday at Fish

King Street's favorite writer and bookseller Jonathan Sanchez, Blue Bicycle Books, was recently a contestant on Jeopardy. We won't spoil the results, but the show airs Monday, March 22.

Misty Lister talked about Charleston Fashion Week, which is in its fourth year and breaking all records. If your store is participating with a window salute, let me know and we'll talk talk about it on our websites. Misty also reminded us that Shine is now open for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

 Julian Smith filled us in on the the Cooper River Bridge Run, The Stiletto Stampede, The Hat Walk and other great events that merit our participation. Many King Street stores and restaurants along the Bridge Run's race route will hold early receptions so race observers, customers and friends can linger, shop and cheer the runners. They begin as early as 7:00 AM. If you have a reception or anything special, let me know and we'll talk about it on our websites. If you're running, we'll talk about that too!

Click here to read the street closing schedule for the Cooper River Bridge Run.

Suzanne Wallace gave an update about the CVB's efforts to welcome cruise ship passengers to "Stay and Cruise". She also encouraged businesses to email her with any specials they would like to offer cruise ship passengers.

Kyle Barnette, Administrative Director of the Charleston Ballet Theatre brought news of Zorro and ways you can participate in Ballet events. You can reach Kyle at 843.723.7334 or email him. Partnerships between local businesses and the Charleston Ballet Theatre have proven to be highly rewarding for everyone involved.

Our friend Evie Nadel sent the schedule for College of Charleston's Accepted Student Weekend, March 19-20, when the college is expecting 1,000 visitors. Click here for more information.

Great news for all Charleston Peninsula businesses

Tommy Dew and Chris Metts from Charleston City Slicker told us how we can be included in their award-winning iPhone and smart phone tour, the wave of our future. It's a digital "shingle" for retailers, restaurants, hotels, museums, galleries, and tours. Everything that a tourist--or local--could want to know will now be available in one mobile application. Just go here to upload your information, FREE! You'll have the opportunity to review and add more information later. Watch for the big launch announcement in early April.

See you next month at  First Wednesday at Fish. We appreciate your participation and are making plans to comfortably accommodate the growing numbers.



Susan Lucas