Folks walking through downtown recently may have noticed that the Peanut Warehouse has gotten a facelift.
The update for the structure at 150 Laurel Street in Conway has been in the works for about a year, when owner CHS of 1995 Investments purchased the property early in 2019.
The investment group consists of three Conway High School Class of 1995 graduates: Jamie McLain, Jay Holbert, and Heath Adams.
The Peanut Warehouse was built in 1900, and was originally a storehouse for tobacco, and later peanuts, hence the name.
McLain knew something had to be done about the original siding, which was wearing away and causing leaks into the building.
“In many places you could see daylight through it,” McLain said.
The new siding only took about two full weeks to put on, and McClain noted that over time, the boards will weather, change color and closely resemble the look of the original siding.
He said last May that the natural, “rough-hewn” cypress would last 75-100 years.
Scott Thompson of Thompson Farm at Brickyard Plantation has leased the building for the past few years to host events. In a normal year he hosts more than 35 events there. This year will be a bit different due to COVID-19.
Most of their spring brides have rescheduled for the fall, he said, due to Governor Henry McMaster’s restrictions on group gathering sizes.
Regardless, Thompson is excited for the change to the building’s façade, and said it will make it easier to regulate temperatures in the building during events.
Thompson said last May that people know the building isn’t climate-controlled and don’t usually book for June, July and August due to the heat.
“It was definitely due for a change,” Thompson said. “Now it’s easier to be climatized…it’s been easier than I would have ever imagined transitioning through it.”
Thompson said the reactions to the new siding have been overwhelmingly positive.
“We haven’t had any opposition,” Thompson said.
McLain concurred.
“Everything we’ve been getting is really positive,” McLain said.
McLain said that while the outside does have a newer look, they did not do anything to change the rustic feel of the inside at all.
“You can’t tell it was done from the inside,” McLain said.
Next up for the Peanut Warehouse will be rebuilt windows, which should be completed in the very near future.
“We’re so excited,” Thompson said.
