CoolSculptingNear Andrews, SC

ANDREWS — Andrews’ new coffee shop celebrates God and gun owners.

AK Coffee, at 403 East Main St., has a Christian-themed ambience and also offers discounts to active and retired military members, first responders and those who have legally holstered firearms.

“There was no coffee shop (in Andrews) and we both like coffee, so we decided to open a coffee shop,” said Abe Thietten, who co-owns the store with his wife Kandy. “We found this building and bought it and we really wanted to do something to serve God, so it’s a Christian-based coffee shop.”

The shop opened on Oct. 7. The Thiettens, who used to live in Idaho, quit their jobs, bought an RV and traveled across the country in 2021, hitting 43 states along the way. En route to Florida for the winter, they stopped in Myrtle Beach and liked the weather.

“I always wanted to flip a house, and so we fixed up a house and ended up getting to know the community and we liked all the churches and liked the people here,” Abe Thietten said.

The Thiettens have prior experience working in the coffee business and consider themselves connoisseurs.

Abe Thietten said all of the vendors and roaster they use are local in an effort to “help the town out as much as we can”. The shop also features a bookshelf filled with Bibles and Christian-based books.

AK has Bible verses posted throughout the building. The Thiettens also have a prayer station where patrons can submit prayer requests, which they read at 9 a.m. every morning as part of a daily prayer in the shop.

“We stop what we’re doing no matter how many people we have and say a prayer for the town,” Abe Thietten said.

The shop also has a conference room where Bible studies are held and offers free Wi-Fi and a drive-thru.

“We’ve gotten to know more people and this town has got the best people,” Kandy Thietten said. “You couldn’t find better.”

The shop’s menu features hot, iced and blended lattes, frappes, Italian sodas, and cookies, brownies and breakfast sandwiches brought in by local bakers and cooks.

ANDREWS, S.C. (WMBF) - A new coffee shop in Georgetown County is offering a unique discount and opportunity for education to gun owners who walk through their doors.

While the coffee shop has been open for weeks, AK Coffee held its grand opening Friday. Dozens of locals turned out for the event, complete with a ribbon cutting, live music and even an appearance from Santa!

What makes AK Coffee so unique is its policy on firearms. While most businesses have a sign on the door that reads, “No firearms allowed,” AK Coffee does things differently.

“We want to encourage law-abiding citizens to be able to protect themselves,” Kandy Thietten says.

Kandy and her husband, Abe, own AK Coffee. They moved to South Carolina from Idaho, eventually settling in Andrews.

“I figure if criminals know people are armed, everybody’s safer.”

If you bring a gun to AK Coffee, you may qualify for a 10% discount. Abe and Kandy have some rules you must follow to receive the discount.

“It has to be in a holster,” Kandy says. “It can’t be floating around in your purse or shoved into your waistband. It has to be holstered. We’re all about safety.”

Abe added that they haven’t had any issues with people bringing their guns to the shop.

They also offer discounts for military and first responders. Active duty and retired military get a 10% discount and first responders get a 50% discount, something they attribute to Andrews’ entire fire department being staffed by volunteers.

On top of encouraging and educating people about safe, legal gun ownership, AK Coffee wants to be a community pillar.

Norberto Luna lives in Andrews and frequents AK Coffee. He says Andrews desperately needs a community gathering spot.

“Get together, talk, solve problems between people, kids, and everything,” Luna says of his vision for AK Coffee. “We’re all in this boat together, and people forget about that. Just a place to get together.”

Luna says he knows young people in and around Andrews are bored; he cited a local parking lot as the hottest hangout spot. He says that boredom is what leads kids to get into trouble.

To appeal to a younger crowd, Abe and Kandy are planning on enhancing their customers’ experiences. They’re planning to add karaoke, a pool table, cornhole and even food trucks. They just installed a stage in the shop, and hope to have live music more frequently.

Luna says there’s no reason to turn down a trip to AK Coffee if you’re in the area.

“Nice part of town, plenty of parking, it’s good,” Luna says. “I highly recommend it.”

You can visit AK Coffee’s website here.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

ANDREWS, S.C. (WCSC) - A former Andrews recreation center has been left partially demolished for over a month after Georgetown County did not obtain an asbestos survey or demolition permit from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Andrews Mayor Frank McClary had not been told when the demolition was happening, but says he first learned about it when a young man who was working on the building supposedly struck a gas line.

“There was no communication,” McClary says. “We realize now that there was not an environmental study.”

The Department of Health and Environmental Services released the following statement on Thursday following a Live 5 email requesting if they had any knowledge of an inspection at the site:

This demolition was started around March 9, 2023, but without an asbestos survey or demolition permit. We are currently waiting for their cleanup/disposal plan before demolition can continue. Having a detailed work plan is a required -- and important -- part of the abatement permitting process because it’s critical to ensure asbestos can be safely and efficiently removed with minimal risk of anyone’s exposure to it.

Due to the unknown nature of possible contaminants from the site, the community and Andrews officials are concerned of potential health risks.

“We don’t know the effect within the community that is having. We have children over there on the playground equipment, you have a walking trail,” Georgetown County Councilman District 3, Everett Carolina, says. “These are things that for health and safety should be a major concern of county council for the constituents and not only Andrews, but for the whole county.”

The former Andrews High School Gym demolition was under Georgetown County Parks and Recreation jurisdiction, beginning on March 7.

Emails between the parks and recreation department, a project contractor and the Department of Health and Environmental Services on March 9 were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

“It was our understanding that due diligence on this project had been done previously when the other buildings on that campus had been demolished,” Georgetown County Parks and Recreation Manager Christopher Loren Wallace said in an email. “Based on our conversation, we now understand that other requirements are necessary.”

Wallace continues to write that a project designer must be hired by the county “to develop a plan abatement and demolishment.

Information obtained in the emails says a project proposal will be presented at the next council meeting on April 25.

“At a minimum, put up a better fence that’s going to really keep the kids out,” McClary says. “Have someone come out here and do an air quality test to see that anything that’s missing to give us some confidence that you really care about what’s going on and you intend to fix it as soon as possible.”

Georgetown County issued the following statement Thursday night:

Staff thought they were cleared to demolish the building. They acted in good faith. When the county found out it was not cleared, we contacted DHEC immediately and started taking steps to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We realize this is a serious issue and a major concern for residents of the Town. Council is supposed to be presented with a quote for the demolition this Tuesday. Once approved, we should be able to move forward with all haste.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Neighbors in Williamsburg County say an unbearable stench from a nearby facility has caused them years of suffering, and despite repeatedly violating the law, it’s still operational.

“It’s like somebody shut you in an old-time loo, outdoor toilet, and pushed your face down in the poo and you have to stay there,” Janey Milligan said. “It eats our lives. It has sucked the air out of every room of our house.”

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, which permits Williamsburg Recycling LLC, is the only agency that has the authority to address the problems at the site. But, much to neighbors’ disappointment, they say DHEC hasn’t taken steps to hold the business properly accountable.

“I call them ‘what the heck’ because it’s unclear as to what they actually do,” Dennis Milligan said.

The Milligans live about a half mile away from the facility on Parker Road in Andrews. It processes sludge or biosolids, a byproduct of the sewage processing at Plum Island in Charleston. It gets delivered by truck every week.

The Hugheys live even closer and say the smell has changed their idyllic lives, for the worse.

“You can’t get rid of it. You can’t escape it,” Travis Hughey. “We’re held prisoner on our own property.”

“Just an assault on life,” Lorie Hughey said.

According to its permit from DHEC, the business is supposed to keep the odor under control and have a plan to keep it in check.

But neighbors have testified time and time again that hasn’t happened.

“It gets so heavy sometimes that you can actually taste it,” Dennis Milligan said.

In the last three years, documents show DHEC inspectors found repeated violations, including but not limited to, the South Carolina Pollution Control Act where it is illegal to discharge any air contaminants to an “undesirable level” which may “unreasonably interfere with enjoyment of life or use of property”.

Last March, an inspector noted an “awful” smell coming from the facility and a “steaming pile” of sludge on the receiving pad.

Two months later investigators tried wearing masks to mute the “extremely strong sewage odor” but found they didn’t have any effect.

In total, DHEC found Williamsburg Recycling was in violation 16 times out of 27 site visits. But according to court records, the owners, Suzanne Conway and Stephen Hekker, question the validity of these visits, complaining that “no scientific or even objective measure of “odor” was taken.

DHEC told the facility it would not be renewing its permit in January 2020, but later rescinded its statement.

It has still not signed off on a draft permit.

“I can’t sleep at night, I get headaches. I am anxious,” Janey said.

The process is considered a green alternative to dumping the waste. But it also saves Charleston Water $1,550 per load by sending the biosolids to Williamsburg County rather than the landfill.

DHEC could also issue a cease-and-desist if the “undesirable level is not corrected [within] the required time” according to the Pollution Act.

But no such thing has come despite the complaints that have continued to pile up like the waste material these neighbors say they often notice on site or left in chunks on the road.

“The law is supposed to protect us,” Travis said.

Last June, DHEC issued a Notice of Alleged Violation, the first step in its enforcement process but this action is still “pending” months later.

Because no final determination has come, DHEC representatives stated they could not comment on the case.

Williamsburg Recycling Notice of Alleged Violation by Live 5 News on Scribd

“We’re just tired of it. We’re done,” Janey said.

DHEC says “in general” businesses actively going through that process are also allowed to continue operation, so Williamsburg Recycling is still active and even hopeful to take on new clients like Mount Pleasant Waterworks.

Conway says what she calls the “bait and switch” by DHEC over the permit and “misleading” statements by agency officials has led to a challenge in court.

Last month, they sued DHEC for violating their due process and putting them at risk of foreclosure.

According to court records, the business alleges business partners were wary to work with them without the updated permit and they’re still on the hook to repay a $2.1 million business loan.

Conway is insistent that the business is following all of the rules and if they were doing anything wrong they’d be “shut down already.”

But that’s exactly what neighbors say has been long overdue.

“This situation permeates and fills every moment of our existence out here,” Travis said.

There is no timeline for a final decision from DHEC, leaving both sides in limbo.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

ANDREWS — Andrews' new coffee shop celebrates God and gun owners.

AK Coffee, at 403 East Main St., has a Christian-themed ambience and also offers discounts to active and retired military members, first responders and those who have legally holstered firearms.

“There was no coffee shop (in Andrews) and we both like coffee, so we decided to open a coffee shop," said Abe Thietten, who co-owns the store with his wife Kandy. "We found this building and bought it and we really wanted to do something to serve God, so it’s a Christian-based coffee shop.”

The shop opened on Oct. 7. The Thiettens, who used to live in Idaho, quit their jobs, bought an RV and traveled across the country in 2021, hitting 43 states along the way. En route to Florida for the winter, they stopped in Myrtle Beach and liked the weather.

Myrtle Beach News

“I always wanted to flip a house, and so we fixed up a house and ended up getting to know the community and we liked all the churches and liked the people here,” Abe Thietten said.

The Thiettens have prior experience working in the coffee business and consider themselves connoisseurs.

Abe Thietten said all of the vendors and roaster they use are local in an effort to “help the town out as much as we can”. The shop also features a bookshelf filled with Bibles and Christian-based books.

AK has Bible verses posted throughout the building. The Thiettens also have a prayer station where patrons can submit prayer requests, which they read at 9 a.m. every morning as part of a daily prayer in the shop.

“We stop what we’re doing no matter how many people we have and say a prayer for the town,” Abe Thietten said.

The shop also has a conference room where Bible studies are held and offers free Wi-Fi and a drive-thru.

“We’ve gotten to know more people and this town has got the best people,” Kandy Thietten said. “You couldn’t find better.”

The shop’s menu features hot, iced and blended lattes, frappes, Italian sodas, and cookies, brownies and breakfast sandwiches brought in by local bakers and cooks.