HUM Grocery
Owner: Natalie & Andrew Humphrey
Opened: 2021
Cooperative: none
Location: 6998 Maybank Hwy, Wadmalaw Island, SC
Photographed: January 2022
As we leave Charleston on Maybank Highway, we'll first hit the
Harris Teeter at Maybank and Folly on James Island, then enter Johns Island to see the
Food Lion and
KJ's. At KJ's, we can turn left (south) to head towards Kiawah Island, or continue straight to cross over to Wadmalaw Island. All the way at the far southern tip of Wadmalaw Island is this building, which for decades was home to P. M. King's grocery, which closed not long ago but has been revitalized recently as HUM Grocery.
Just a note on geography before we get into this amazing store. We're only about two and a half miles as the crow flies west of
Freshfields Village, but to drive it you have to take a full trip of 22 miles, via Johns Island (where KJ's is). So this store is out at the far end of the island, and in a pretty remote area. But let's take a look at it! As I mentioned, and as you can probably tell, this store dates back many decades as P. M. King's, but closed a few years ago. In 2021, Wadmalaw residents Natalie and Andrew Humphrey took over and reopened the store as a grocery store and deli and have been adding new features, such as homemade barbecue.
I stopped by here for lunch while on the island and couldn't believe the store. On the inside, it's incredibly well-preserved but also nicely fixed up. HUM Grocery sells the basics that you'd need, but also makes the fresh sandwiches and barbecue (which they did not have finished yet for the day when I visited, very sadly).
Let's take a look around the interior, which is only about 950 square feet. By the way, that's Andrew Humphrey, the owner, who you see turned around above. He and his wife are extremely nice people, which adds to the charm of the grocery store.
You can see where the food is cooked off to the side, behind the half-wall there. And you can also see the tables in the middle with new added items, including local art and handmade items. On that subject, I actually bought the last (although they've probably added some more since) HUM Grocery baseball cap when I visited. My father and I were admiring the very nice design on it, with the logo visible on the BBQ menu in the first picture, when we stopped in for sandwiches, but didn't buy it. But we actually returned after we ate the sandwiches at the coast to buy it. When we went to the register to pay for it, we were talking to Andrew about it and he told us his wife Natalie painted them by hand. He then gestured behind us, and when we turned around, there she was, and she introduced herself with "Hi, I'm Natalie!" It was a very nice way to see a very local store with really hand-made products.
Anyway, back to the food store end of things. As we see, the store's old grocery shelving is once again stocked with a lot of different grocery items, which must be very convenient for Wadmalaw residents.
This was a great, unexpected stop out here on the island, and I'm extremely glad I got to see it! Definitely worth a stop if you ever find yourself out on this remote island. And I got a baseball cap out of it! And with that, our South Carolina coverage has come to an end. Tomorrow we have the obligatory Streetside Sights & Scenes, which I always think is a lot of fun, and then we begin our circle back up north the following day!
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