Huddle House, 1141 Cottingham Boulevard N, Bennettsville: September 2022 (2023/05/03)

Near the end of last year while running an errand in Bennettsville, I noticed that their Huddle House had closed. One of the reviews at Restaurant Guru is from eight months ago and simply states, "This location is permanently closed." Because the date of this review is from before I made the same observation, I am going with September 2022 as the closing date.

While looking through the reviews to determine an accurate closing date, I noticed how many of them were bad, with some of them pointing out how understaffed this Huddle House was. Indeed, if you look closely at the sign in my first picture, you will see "NOW HIRING" and "APPLY WITHIN". Since you rarely see a Huddle House close, it is likely that staffing issues were a major factor, if not the main reason, for why this location was shut down.

Cheraw Motors, Inc. / Harpe Family Automotive, 970 Chesterfield Highway: November 2022 (2023/03/28)

Like both Jerry Harpe's Cars LLC and Harpe's Body Shop next door, Harpe Family Automotive closed up shop back in November of last year because the owner is going to or has already sold the property. According to their website, which is still online as of today, the business was started in 1968 as Cheraw Motors, Inc., by Tom and Sue Harpe and then passed on to their son Mitch, who operated Harpe Family Automotive with the help of his mother Sue, sister Terri, and Mike and James.

Unfortunately, by the time I had heard the news, the outside of the building had already been torn down before I could take pictures, which I did around the end of last year. On the other hand, had the inside of the building not been exposed when I took these pictures, I would not have a picture of that crimson throne.

Harpe's Body Shop and Jerry Harpe's Cars LLC, 978 and 976 Chesterfield Highway: November 2022 (moved) (2023/03/28)

Though they share the same lot, Harpe's (or Harpe) Body Shop and Jerry Harpe's Cars LLC appear to have been separate businesses. Both do at least have separate phone numbers and street addresses. Both are also, as of November of last year, closed. It is my understanding that the owner of this lot and the owner of the adjacent two lots, used by Harpe Family Automotive, are going to sell or have already sold their property; however, the Chesterfield County GIS website shows no change of ownership for either lot as of today.

Depending on whom you ask, there has been a good deal of speculation as to what business will go here next, ranging from another car wash (like the one in front of the Walmart that is in a perpetual state of "coming soon") to a Starbucks. If you ask me, I would say a car wash is the far more likely outcome of the two, but who am I to prevent those who dream of a Seattle-based coffee chain setting up shop in our rural town?

UPDATE 4/25/23: While on the way to Chesterfield this past week, I noticed that Jerry Harpe's Cars LLC is in a new location, which appears to be the owner's house, on Highway 9 about a mile before you get to Thompson Creek. I have corrected the heading of this post to show that this business has moved, not closed.