Mobile Home Sales in Lone Star, SC

National furniture and home décor store Ballard Designs announces "Doors Open" in the high-end shopping destination, Mount Pleasant Town Centre, SC. This store is the brand's entry into retail locations in the state. As Ballard ramps up its retail presence nationwide, its new freestanding store joins more than 60 other shops and restaurants in this popular open-air mall just minutes from historic downtown Charleston.

CHARLESTON, S.C., Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Home décor and furniture design company Ballard Designs has just opened its first South Carolina retail location, in its first stand-alone retail store. The new venue, a free-standing, airy space of almost 9,000 square feet, is part of the popular retailer's multi-year expansion currently spanning 13 states and 19 retail stores.

Ballard Designs' Mount Pleasant Town Centre retail store is just off Interstate 526 and Highway 17 North

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"We're thrilled to be one more reason to visit this Lowcountry shopping destination," reports Dominic Milanese, VP of Retail for Ballard Designs. "With its beautiful homes, active lifestyles, and gorgeous coastal location, the Charleston area is the ideal choice for our first South Carolina store."

"If you entertain year-round like we do, you're going to LOVE our new Mount Pleasant store," Milanese adds. "We have a huge selection of gorgeous outdoor furniture, performance fabrics, indoor/outdoor rugs, and coastal accents. We hope to end up at the top of everyone's 'Things to Do in Mount Pleasant, SC' list."

Easy Access and Ample Parking - Near the Sweetgrass Baskets Stands

The new Ballard Designs store will serve passionate home decorating enthusiasts & professional designers alike, as well as visitors to the roadside Sweetgrass Baskets stands of Mount Pleasant's famed Gulla sweetgrass basket weavers. Located at 1128 Market Center Boulevard, the store has its own parking area at the front for easy access.

Regular store hours will be 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Friday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday. See Ballard Design's stores and products online.

About Ballard Designs

Since 1982, Ballard Designs® has offered a unique curation of home furnishings and décor from all periods and provenance. Its designers travel the world for inspiration, translating the latest trends in fashion, color and style into finely crafted products not found anywhere else. Ballard Designs is part of Qurate Retail Group^SM which includes QVC®, HSN®, Zulily®, Frontgate®, Garnet Hill® and Grandin Road®.

Contact: Ann Bailey 404-603-7239 354544@email4pr.com

SOURCE Ballard Designs

A group of familiar local, regional, and international brands are coming to Uptown Park — some with their first Houston and even Texas presences.

Four new tenants will soon set up shop at Uptown Park, according to owner/operator EDENS, the national real estate firm. The new spots are:

NatuzziThe sleek, modern Italian luxury furniture brand. The Italian designer and manufacturer's 6,393-square-foot showroom in Uptown Park marks the first free-standing store location in Houston (locals will recognize the brand in select stores). Design-conscious shoppers can expect the stylish, functional, and minimalist craftsmanship that has made the company a favorite with interior professionals and choosy home designers.

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Hi, skinThe Arizona-based studio has grown to national prominence with its fresh-faced aim to make quality skincare accessible to all. Its 2,261-square-foot space marks Texas outpost, one that will offer personalized skincare through customized treatments, expert advice, and curated product recommendations, per press materials.

sweetgreenA favorite among local healthy eaters, the brand will open a 2,908-square-foot space, making seven locations for the national chain that serves healthy food quickly and at scale, per its mission. Diners can look for signature salads and bowls, seasonal menu offerings, and — always a favorite — outdoor seating.

JuiceLandA popular health-food spot in Austin serving old-pressed juices, superfood smoothies, and generally good vibes, JuiceLand will open an intimate, 700-square-foot destination for those seeking wellness and systemic health through plant-based diets. The store already boasts four other Houston locations.

“The evolution of Uptown Park over the last five years has solidified its position as a bustling hub for the city’s most sought-after dining and shopping,” said Tom Kiler, managing director of EDENS, in a statement. “We are thrilled to add more first-to-market concepts to Uptown Houston and help expand the footprint of brands already within the city.”

As those who frequent the area are aware, Uptown Park offers a range of high-end and upscale entertainment, restaurants, retail, and services, including Crave Cupcakes, Drybar, Elizabeth Anthony, Etoile Cuisine et Bar, Flower Child, High Gloss, Longoria Collection, M Penner, Postino Wine Cafe, Rejuvenation, Songkran Thai Kitchen, The Museum For Black Girls, The Rustic, Top Drawer Lingerie, Uptown Sushi, URBE, Van Leeuwen, and more.

Now more walkable and user-centric, Uptown Park hosts signature events such as farmer’s markets, seasonal markets, yoga classes hosted by onsite YogaSix, and more.

“The addition of these four concepts and others opening this year at Uptown Park promises our guests the most in-demand brands and experiences,” said Michael Hale, senior vice president of leasing at EDENS, in a statement. “Paired with the unique events our team hosts throughout the year, Uptown Park continues to enrich our neighborhood and enhance the surrounding community.”

Photo by Tye Truitt

Finding free events during South by Southwest is sometimes as simple as bookmarking a social media post or walking down the street, but those strategies are hit-or-miss to say the least. The easiest free music plans to commit to are always at the Outdoor Stage, one of the only official SXSW venues that welcomes visitors for free, and sets clear plans well in advance.

This year, the festival has seamlessly transitioned to naming the event rather than just the stage, using "Community Concerts at Lady Bird Lake." These public concerts from March 16-18 transform Auditorium Shores into one of the biggest venues of the entire festival, using the Austin skyline as a backdrop while both local and nationally celebrated acts play. The lineup in 2022 featured both well-known and local bands including Mt. Joy, Heartless Bastards, and Golden Dawn Arkestra.

On Thursday, March 9, KUTX takes over programming as it has done on and off since 2007. This year's theme is ska, but the island genre only influences each set — performers from several genres including the blues, chiptune rap, and "billingual indie music for kids," will play their own music, plus at least one ska-flavored tune. This will be interesting when celebrated Austin guitarist Rosie Flores adapts her rockabilly style. Thao, an eclectic, folksy but funky solo artist from Oakland, closes out the night.

Fridays's shows are without theme, and only showcase three artists compared to Thursday's six. Afrobeat progeny Baba Kuboye (American nephew of Nigeria's late, great Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti) opens the day in a danceable way, followed by pop artist AJ Smith and vibes that couldn't be more different save for the general upbeat overlap. The Zombies — yes, those psych rock 60s icons — are currently touring with Smith, and will play Austinites home or onto their next plans (since all outdoor shows end at 7 pm).

Saturday is the last of the three-day mini-series, hosted by Honk TX (stylized HONK!TX), an Austin non-profit that brings street and brass bands to the Live Music Capital for free. This rowdy series will feature another six bands, this time all Austin's own, including the "undead" costumed Dead Music Capitol Band and the 25-person collective Minor Mishap Marching Band.

The full lineup for 2023's Community Concerts at Lady Bird Lake is as followed:

Thursday, March 16

Friday, March 17

Saturday, March 18

Attendees may bring a picnic or purchase food and drinks from local food trucks and a Beer Garden. More information about set times and other logistics is available at sxsw.com. Lineups are subject to change.

Houston’s Masterchef winner has arrived in Spring Branch. Chef Christine Ha has opened the bigger, better new location of The Blind Goat in the bustling neighborhood with Stuffed Belly, her drive-thru sandwich concept, to follow soon.

Formerly a stand in Bravery Chef Hall, The Blind Goat has joined Feges BBQ and Slowpokes at at Spring Branch Village, local real estate developer Braun Enterprises’ shopping center at 8141 Long Point Rd. The restaurant began its soft opening last weekend and is now open daily for dinner (reservations are required during soft opening).

Operated with her husband and business partner John Suh, the Blind Goat is Ha’s homage to Vietnamese street food. It takes its name from Ha’s condition of having lost her sight and the chef’s Vietnamese astrological sign.

“I describe it as [inspired by] street or open air seafood markets in Vietnam but modern and chic in the Houston setting,” Ha tells CultureMap.

Ha, who won Season 3 of the Gordon Ramsay cooking competition show Masterchef, also earned a 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination in the Best New Restaurant category for the Blind Goat’s original location at downtown’s Bravery Chef Hall. She and business partner Tony Nguyen are 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists in the Outstanding Chef category for Xin Chao, their restaurant near downtown that mixes Texas barbecue and Vietnamese culinary traditions.

What distinguishes this location of the Blind Goat from both its predecessor and Xin Chao is that it’s a ground up build. While that comes with challenges such as pandemic supply chain disruptions and construction delays, the result is a space that’s been specifically designed to execute Ha’s menu.

“Our kitchen is more than twice the size of our whole space at the food hall,” she says. “I was able to realize more of the initial true vision of what I had for the Blind Goat.”

That vision starts with a number of new dishes, such as banh khot. Ha compares the crispy rices cakes to the more well known banh xeo, but with a distinct advantage over the larger crepe.

“I love the flavors of banh xeo, but it’s so large it gets soggy,” she says. “I love the crispy aspect of the banh khot.”

The menu’s whole roasted turmeric fish takes its inspiration from a dish that Ha’s late father loved. At the Blind Goat, the fish is marinated with yogurt, shrimp paste, turmeric, and golangal. After being roasted, it’s deboned but served with the head and tail on for good luck, Ha explains.

An early customer favorite is the crawfish and garlic noodles. A staple of Vietnamese American restaurants in San Francisco, Ha puts a Houston spin on the dish by swapping crab for crawfish.

Adding to the experience are tropical-inspired cocktails that enhance the coastal flavors of the food. Look for fruits like guava and melon along with Asian ingredients like taro and lemongrass.

“I’m very hands on with everything. The food is all my recipes. The cocktails, I taste all of them and make sure they’re the way I want them to pair with our food,” Ha says. “It’s about creating this cohesive, fun experience.”

Also contributing to the tropical/coastal experience is the design by local architect John Tsai of JT Arc Studio. Working with Suh, Tsai and his team selected the colors and created a custom rope installation for the space.

“We wanted to keep it clean, simple, and chic. It doesn’t take way from the food, but it still feels fun, light, and beachy,” Ha says.

The chef and her team will only have a few weeks to get the Blind Goat dialed in before they’ll have an additional project to tackle. Stuffed Belly, the chef’s new sandwich restaurant, is on track to open in April in the same shopping center as the Blind Goat. She’s still finalizing the menu and searching for the right chef to lead the kitchen.

“It’s daunting to open two restaurants back to back, but you have to be able to adapt,” she says. “We’re looking for someone creative and fun who loves sandwiches to helm that kitchen.”

Heads up, Texas, Dué Cucina is going south.

The Seattle-based casual Italian restaurant chain is expanding to deep into the heart of the Lone Star State, thanks to $2.5 million direct investment from Mac Haik Restaurant Group (MHRG), a Houston-based restaurant investment company.

DON’T MISS: This Popular Restaurant Chain Has Quietly Filed for an IPO

Dué Cucina will open three locations in Texas within the next two years. The company and MHRG will also form a joint venture to launch 10 additional units in the state by 2031.

Dué Cucina, which has four locations in Seattle, describes itself as “a casual-gourmet Italian restaurant serving fresh handmade pasta dishes, appetizers, porchetta, and desserts.”

“We want everybody to experience the way we eat pasta and Italian food at home: fresh and diverse yet simple food, prepared from scratch every day, with an affordable price tag,” Due Cucina said on its website.

The company was founded in 2016 by Davide Macchi and Filippo Fiori, two friends who were born and raised in Tuscany and met while riding the bus to high school.

Macchi, the company’s CEO, is a former project manager at Amazon, while Fiori, president and head chef, has a doctorate degree in nuclear science and technology.

Expanding to Texas and Beyond...

“This partnership with MHRG is a significant milestone that signals the start of Dué Cucina’s expansion into new markets across the country,” Macchi said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to leveraging MHRG’s deep expertise in the restaurant space to rapidly accelerate our growth and continue proving our concept in Texas and beyond.”

The pair are looking for their share of the estimated $5.9 billion North American pasta industry using the causal model developed by companies like Chipoltle Mexican Grill.

There are other Italian restaurant chains out there, include Darden Restaurants’ Olive Garden, Fat Brands’ Fazoli’s and Carrabba’s Italian Grill, which is own by Outback Steakhouse parent Bloomin’ Brand.

Fiori graduated from Tsinghua University in China, where he taught cooking classes and was a resident Italian chef on the Chinese cooking show “YummyYummy!”

“I believe that cooking is an art that can be improved with science,” Fiori said on his LinkedIn page. “As a scientist, I leverage my scientific background to develop standardized food processing methods for ingredient optimization.”

Brandon Poynter, President for Mac Haik Enterprises LTD. said “the Texas market shares a lot of similarities to Seattle and offers a significant opportunity to deliver authentic Italian cuisine in an affordable and accessible way.”

As it expands its footprint in Texas, Due Cucina will continue expanding in the Seattle area with a fifth location scheduled to open in Redmond, WA in 2024.

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This story was originally published February 24, 2023, 3:32 PM.