Zion Grocery / Riverway Grill, 1208 Zion Road, Bennettsville: before 2018 (2025/05/10)

While driving down the back roads of Marlboro County, I came across this old, white building. This building was last a restaurant called Riverway Grill. As for what food Riverway Grill served, since I can't find any information about it online, I couldn't tell you. Burgers and hot dogs? Ribs, maybe?

When looking up the address of the building, 1208 Zion Road, I was surprised to find that it is a Bennettsville address rather than Blenheim, as I was thinking this location was closer to the latter. I also learned that it was previously a grocery store called Zion Grocery.

According to this online record from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, two gasoline tanks and one kerosene tank were removed from this site so at one point, it appears that fuel was sold at this location. If I were to guess the age of this building just by its looks, I would say it is roughly 100 years old and has served as a convenience store for most of its existance.

Five Two Kitchen, 80 Powe Street: December 2024 (2025/03/29)

Five Two Kitchen was a restaurant that served Japanese and Chinese food. It was located where Brady's Restaurant used to be.

As for the closing date of December 2024, I'm pretty sure Five Two Kitchen was out of business by the end of the year. The most recent social media post of theirs that I could find was from November, and I recall hearing around that time that they had closed.

As shown in one of the pictures, the building is now for rent. It will be interesting to see what follows.

Coach's Neighborhood Grill, 973 Chesterfield Highway: January 2025 (2025/03/03)

Coach's Neighborhood Grill is a regional restaurant chain that offers food similar to what you might find at an Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday, O'Charley's, etc. This location opened a couple of years after Fatz Cafe had closed. As my daughter recently observed when I told her that Coach's was closed, it seems this location may be "cursed".

The few times I ate at Coach's, I thought the food was fine, although I figured out that the sandwiches were better than the main entrees. I recall ordering their grilled chicken breast entree once and receiving a portion of meat that was greatly disproportional to the cost of the meal...and no, I don't mean that in the vein of, "Wow! Look at how much I got for just this little money!" but more like, "Wow...that's it...ok then..."

According to a number of reviews I have read online and my own experiences, this Coach's likely failed due to being perpetually understaffed, which led to long waits for service...which led to poor reviews. I recall going to Coach's on a weekday evening last year and walking inside to what seemed to be an empty restaurant. The lights were on. We could hear some banging around in the kitchen so we assume that one or more employees were there. There was no host(ess) up front, and we stood for about 5 minutes before walking out. There was still one hour left, at least, before the restaurant closed. There was at least one car, if not two, in the parking lot, and having not seen any customers, I assumed that (1) there were employees present and (2) the restaurant was open.

I cannot say that I had ever walked into a restaurant before only to wonder if I was breaking and entering!