New Restaurants in Chapin SC: What's Changing in 2026

"We are planning on being open year-round inside, which has not been the case out here at Rusty Anchor for many years," Jason McDowell told The State in March. If that plan holds, this will be the first fall in years that the Rusty Anchor on Johnson Marina Road keeps serving after the boats come out of the water.

That one sentence sums up how Chapin's dining scene changed in 2026. Most of the changes at the restaurants people already knew came from local operators. They bought existing rooms, kept some of the names, retired others, and changed the hours. Almost all the brand-new construction is in a different part of town and has a different kind of tenant. The town center and the lake changed through sales. The interstate end of Columbia Avenue changed through new buildings.

One Restaurateur, Five Chapin Kitchens

McDowell already owned J.R. Cash's and Cash's Chicken in Chapin. Then he bought three more restaurants from Jon Angell: the J. Peters Grill and Bar at 912 Chapin Road, and the side-by-side Rusty Anchor and Catfish Johnny's at 1925 Johnson Marina Road on Lake Murray. He told The State the deal closed "back in December."

Here is his Chapin lineup now:

• J.R. Cash's, the restaurant he was already known for in Chapin and elsewhere
• Cash's Chicken, also in Chapin
• Chapin Ale House, the renovated former J. Peters at 912 Chapin Road, which opened Monday, June 8
• Rusty Anchor, the indoor restaurant at the marina, which kept its name
• Nauti Turtle Bar & Grill, the outdoor bar and grill that used to be Catfish Johnny's

At the Ale House, McDowell went for a full rework, not a new sign on the old room. "We want to make sure that, even from a facilities standpoint, when people walk in to the Chapin Ale House that they say, 'Oh wow, this really has changed,'" he said in March. He called it a "food forward" gastropub and sports bar with 14 beers on tap. The opening menu backs that up. Next to the wings and burgers are chicken and waffles, brown butter pecan salmon, steak frites, and blackened fried shrimp mac and cheese. There's also a wood-fired pizza list with the Squeaky Wheel, topped with salami, pepperoni, sausage, ham, and bacon, and the Angry Hawaiian with a jerk sauce drizzle. McDowell described the range this way: "You could come out on a Tuesday night after softball and have wings and burgers and a draft beer, but on a Friday night you could have a prosciutto and arugula flatbread and some cool stuff."

The location helps. About 16,000 cars a day travel that stretch of Chapin Road, according to SCDOT data cited by The State.

At the lake, McDowell kept the Rusty Anchor name because of what he called its "legacy on the lake." The menu he described includes steaks, ribs, shrimp, sandwiches, and burgers. Nauti Turtle covers the open-air side with burgers, wraps, shrimp platters, and chicken tenders. He also said he expected the live music to be "more acoustic, country, (Jimmy) Buffett kind of vibe" than the louder rock of past years.

"We feel like Columbia is growing like crazy, and we can put together the right menu for the fall and winter."

He said that in March, as a plan. October is when that plan gets tested. The restaurant's website didn't give a clear off-season schedule we could confirm, so call ahead or check its social pages before a cold-weather dinner at the marina. The year-round commitment was about the indoor Rusty Anchor. Nauti Turtle is the outdoor-seating side, so expect its hours to follow the weather.

A Breakfast Room Changes Hands Near the High School

Another long-running local group made the second big move this year. On October 5, The State reported that Bakon Southern Eatery at 301 Columbia Avenue, near Chapin High School, has been sold and will close under its current ownership. Bakon had been there since 2022, and its farewell post called it "a special place for so many celebrations, family meals, and weekend traditions."

Bakon belongs to the Happy Fork restaurant group, which also owns the Chophouse of Chapin and the Cork & Cleaver steakhouses in Lexington and Greenville. The announcement said the group is putting its focus on the steakhouses. So Happy Fork is staying in Chapin. Its Chapin restaurant is now the Chophouse at 105 Ellett Road, Suite 104.

The room at 301 Columbia Avenue won't sit empty. According to the post, new owners "plan to introduce a new concept for the community." Who they are and what they'll serve haven't been announced. That makes it the third established Chapin dining room to change hands in under a year, after J. Peters and the marina pair.

Until the new concept opens, here are two locally run places for a weekday morning:

• The Daily Grind Cafe, 908 Chapin Road, on the same stretch as Chapin Ale House. The cafe opened in August 2018. Its main website lists Tuesday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed Monday. Its Square page shows different hours, so check before you count on Sunday brunch.
• The Coffee Shelf, 130 Amicks Ferry Road, Suite A-2. It's a coffee, books, and art cafe that has been in Chapin since 2016. Posted hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

Where the New Buildings Are Going

Most of the brand-new construction this year is clustered on Columbia Avenue toward I-26, and nearly all of it is national or regional brands. In June, The State listed the lineup by address:

Wendy's is the newest to open. The Greater Chapin Chamber held its ribbon-cutting on Friday, October 2. The restaurant is operated by Tar Heel Capital Corp., and CEO Tad Dolbier told the Lexington Chronicle it was expected to employ about 40 people. As of that report, it was still hiring. The Chamber held its First Friday networking event at the new Wendy's that same morning.

The one homegrown name in the strip is Carolina Wings & Rib House. It's a Midlands brand founded by the Schoolmeesters, and the Chapin restaurant, under construction behind Little Caesars, will be its fifth location. The target opening is early 2027.

A little closer to town, Chiang Mai-Asia Cuisine + Sushi opened May 4 at 1419 Chapin Road.

So the new buildings went up near the interstate, while local owners took over the old rooms closer to the lake. The road connecting those two parts of town is about to spend three years under construction.

The Road Between the Two

SCDOT broke ground May 29 on the Columbia Avenue Corridor Improvement Project. It's a $75.3 million upgrade from I-26 to downtown Chapin, and completion is expected in October 2029. The plans call for divided medians, boulevard-style improvements downtown, sidewalks, and two new road alignments. Those new roads will run behind Chapin High School and connect Amicks Ferry Road to the Columbia Avenue connector with I-26. That creates a route around downtown, with a roundabout planned where East Boundary meets Stonewall Court.

The most recent Town update we found is in the July 21 council minutes. Utility easements and relocation still had to be worked out before some sections could start, so SCDOT planned to work on other sections in the meantime and repave the existing two lanes. Before construction started, planners said at least one lane would stay open during widening and that work would be limited during rush hours. We didn't find any dated closure or detour notices for this fall. The Town's Roads Updates page is the place to watch.

At the May groundbreaking, salon owner Cathy Dooley told WACH she expected the traffic changes to frustrate some customers. For anyone who eats out in town, a practical effect is that the Columbia Avenue businesses closest to the high school, including the Bakon space and whatever opens there, sit right in the area slated for boulevard work.

Two Dates for the Calendar

The fall calendar adds two reasons to come downtown:

1. Holmes and Watson, from Chapin Theatre Company at 830 Columbia Avenue. Evening shows run October 8 through 10 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., and the Chamber listing also shows a Sunday, October 11 matinee from 3 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $18 to $25. The listing's headline dates end on the 10th, so confirm the matinee with the theater.
2. The 10th Annual Chapin Bands Holiday Market, Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Chapin High School, 300 Columbia Avenue. It's free and advertises more than 100 craft vendors, food trucks, a silent auction, and live music from the Chapin High Jazz Band.

The Holiday Market sits right where the new bypass roads are planned behind the high school. It's also a block from the 301 Columbia Avenue room that's waiting on its next tenant.

If you'd like help finding your way around Chapin, whether that's this year's restaurant changes or the Columbia Avenue work, Alivia Cavanaugh keeps up with how the town is changing and is glad to share what she knows. Let's Connect.