UPDATED: Orangeburg’s Stop N Pop ‘in process of closing’; flag not reason

“Stop N Pop — Handcrafted Gourmet Soda” at 1586 John C. Calhoun Drive posted three closed signs on its restaurant at U.S. 301 and Russell Street on Wednesday. A U-Haul moving truck was also parked in front of the restaurant.

The restaurant on its Facebook page Wednesday asked the public to come to the restaurant for drinks, popcorn, chocolate ice cream “while supplies last.”

The restaurant also on social media held customer appreciation day with a 50% off sale on select items earlier this week, but there was no mention of the restaurant closing on social media.

“We appreciate each and everyone of you in support of our business!” the restaurant posted on Facebook.

This reporter went to the restaurant upon hearing rumors of its closure and employees at the restaurant would not confirm nor deny the truth of the rumor. Restaurant employees said the owner was unavailable. An attempt to reach the owner was unsuccessful until Wednesday afternoon after an earlier story was posted online.

The Facebook response stated that the restaurant is “in the process of closing down. We don’t have a set date to be done serving the public, we are playing it by ear.

“We appreciate our time here and having the opportunity to serve the community. We will greatly miss our patrons and employees, we believe we had the best of both.”

The statement said the closing is not related to years of controversy surrounding the Confederate flag that flies on private property in front of the business.

“It is a much more logical reason we are leaving,” with the statement citing closures of restaurants such as Tulio’s, Fatz and The Kuckery; businesses such as JCPenney and Office Max, and industries such as Koyo.

“Even Walmart Neighborhood Market is for sale for 9 million migos. Shoney’s and Walgreens on John C. Calhoun near us are all for sale.

“It is not likely all of these business are shrinking, selling, or closing in the past few years because of the flag. Most likely it is the same reason as ours.

“We have been seeing very rapid rates of inflation over the past 4 years and it is difficult to navigate and adapt to these economic conditions quickly enough. The cost of food from our suppliers to restaurants has more than tripled since 2019.

“In our case I was not experienced enough in this industry to have the knowledge to adapt quick enough. This location is drastically overpriced compared to its value, and we learned that many people in Orangeburg do not travel to this end of Orangeburg. Even when they go to the gardens or Walmart, most people will never go past 1 block east of our location.

“We also have a specialized product that Orangeburg most likely doesn’t have the population to support, so it’s likely we would have failed at any location in Orangeburg.”

The restaurant opened in December 2022. The location formerly housed the Edisto River Creamery.

The restaurant’s premier items were handcrafted gourmet sodas but the restaurant also included a coffee bar, specialty popcorns, mini donuts, soda floats, shakes, ice creams and cotton candy.

The restaurant was opened by Utah resident Josh Ryan, who had a desire to bring a little bit of the West to the South in starting the restaurant. Ryan opened in the Orangeburg area due to having close family living in the county.

In addition to food, the restaurant also provided diners a place to gather. Games such as tic-tac-toe, cornhole and Pac-Man were available.

The location has been controversial.

The former Edisto River Creamery closed in late 2018, with its owner citing the challenges of successfully operating a business under the shadow of the Confederate flag.

Maryland native Thomas Daras purchased the building in February 2015 but said his family received threats and that the business suffered because of the flag and the Confederate monument.

A small parcel of land at Russell Street and John C. Calhoun Drive in front of the restaurant was given to the Sons of Confederate Veterans Rivers Bridge Camp 842 by a previous owner for a historical display including the flag.

The dispute between the SCV and Daras went on for a couple of years, going all the way before a circuit court judge.

State Rep. Justin Bamberg, Daras’ attorney, claimed the city’s zoning ordinance didn’t allow the flag in front of the restaurant because the property is zoned commercial general. Bamberg argued the property has a historic use and not for business.

A circuit court judge eventually ruled the Confederate flag did not violate the City of Orangeburg’s zoning ordinance. The matter has not been pursued any further.

The flag controversy became a 40-minute documentary film produced and directed by filmmaker and Orangeburg native Emily Harrold. The film won the Best Short Award at the virtual Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

Stop N Pop owners did not have any publicly revealed problems resulting from proximity to the flag.