Explorin’ With Loren: Loris is a ‘city without limits’ with a lot of love to give
“Once you go away, you realize what you’re missing back home.”
LORIS, S.C. (WMBF) - Loris is known for its annual Bog Off Festival but this city has so much more to offer. We found passionate and friendly people who go above and beyond to make their customers happy.
“We’re a small town with a lot of love, I would say,” said Kristin Sedlak, co-owner of The Grind.
Loris is an area that’s coined as “A City Without Limits” and it loves just the same. It’s a tight-knit community that could never unravel, like the stitching that’s done at one of Main Street’s oldest stores, Loris Drug Store, established in 1910.
“My father bought this business in 1950. He worked here 20 years previous to that when he bought it,” said Douglas Singleton Bailey, president and owner of Loris Drug Store.
Bailey said his family relocated the store to the current location, where he remembered selling ducks as a kid when it was just a vacant lot.
“Maybe that was some premonition of what was going to go on here. When I was selling those ducks, I never knew that I’d have a drug store at this location,” he said.
Bailey has since hired his son to expand the pharmacy to a one-stop-shop that includes an embroidery station that’s perfect for new grandmother, Lenora Brooks.
“I saw the onesies. So, today I placed an order and now I’m going to pick up,” Brooks said. “Everything is reasonably priced. I was just delighted to walk in here.”
The drug store also shows off its retro soda fountain and a separate women’s boutique called Moon Vine.
“It’s hard to believe you’re in Loris when you’re in there,” said Bailey.
A store that Bailey said continues to evolve but remains traditional at heart.
Fill up at a 1920s gas station that’s now an eclectic but comfy restaurant, called The Grind.
“We serve soups, salads and sandwiches. And we have smoothies and coffees,” said Sedlak.
All the produce is homegrown just like Sedlak.
“My family owns Bellamy Farms here in Loris. So, we try to use as many things as we can from local farms. Not only them but other farms as well,” she said.
Sedlak and her husband opened the eatery in May 2013 and promises their customers a tasty and welcoming experience. Bobby Degregorio stopped by for the first time and tried their famous chicken salad.
“They put some grapes and the right mayonnaise I guess in that chicken salad and it’s really, really good,” said Degregorio.
“We do use Duke’s Mayonnaise and we use local pecans in the chicken salad. Maybe that gives it an extra boost and we make it fresh. We pull our own chickens and make it fresh daily,” said Sedlak.
Whether you’re dining in or taking it to go, the Sedlak’s serve everyone with a smile.
“I have moved away to bigger cities, and that almost made it more important to come back. Once you go away, you realize what you’re missing back home,” said Sedlak.
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