Owner plans for IGA reopening; fire took Bowman’s only grocery store

April 23--BOWMAN -- Nearly seven months after a fire damaged the Bowman IGA, the town's only grocery store, the building remains empty.

But efforts are underway to bring a store back to the small town.

Building owner Diane Coker says she is in the process of negotiating with the insurance companies to determine what will be done.

"It has been a slow process," Coker said. "But we plan to rebuild."

Coker says she does not know when the store will be rebuilt or reopened, noting much is contingent on insurance.

Coker says she realizes the need for a grocery store in the area. Every time she goes to the store, four or five people stop by to ask her when it will reopen.

"We are all crossing our fingers and hoping and praying," Bowman Mayor Marion Glenn Jr. said about the store reopening.

The store's closure has been difficult for the small town. It served as a destination for not only Bowman residents, but also Branchville residents.

"It has been very rough," Glenn said. "People have to go to Orangeburg and sometimes St. George or Holly Hill."

Glenn said not having the IGA has been a significant inconvenience for residents, especially for senior citizens who don't always have a means of transportation.

"That creates a real hardship for them," he said.

Firefighters were called to the scene of the fire at 6511 Charleston Highway the evening of Sept. 24 last year in response to a report of smoke inside the store. They found light smoke inside the store and heavy smoke in the rear stockroom of the business.

Five employees and three customers were inside the grocery store at the time and were evacuated. There were no injuries.

The store employed approximately 25 people.

Investigators determined the fire started in the store's rear stockroom and was electrical in nature. The contents of the store were insured but not the building.

The sales area received water and smoke damage.

Contact the writer: [email protected] or 803-533-5551. Check out Zaleski on Twitter at @ZaleskiTD.

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