Hilton Head Business

Three local businesses — J Banks Design, CoastalStates Bank and CareCore National — were named three of South Carolina’s Fastest-Growing Companies at a November luncheon hosted by the Capital Corporation and co-sponsored by Dixon Hughes, SCBiz News and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

“At culinary school, often you learn only how to bake from mixes. But anyone can learn to prepare healthy food from scratch, and this is what I want to change.”

“Bread isn’t bad for anybody!” exclaims Robert Plantadis, owner of The Midnight Bakers, holding court over freshly brewed French coffee in his working kitchen.

There are many places in which that might be seen as a contentious remark, but addressing the bad press bread tends to get these days (“A disaster!” Plantadis says) is one of the tasks he’s set for himself in America. “In Europe, people eat bread all day long, and it’s not a problem for anyone,” says Plantadis. Here in America, he continues, the problems are all in the ingredients and methods, and in the difference between mass production and artisanal baking — which, as you might guess, is a stark one.

How Outside Hilton Head rose from humble beginnings to a five-part success — with its own island.

Even with all his creative might, Mike Overton could have never imagined that the little part-time windsurfinginstruction business he started on the south end of Hilton Head Island would one day become the sprawling, multifaceted company known as Outside Hilton Head.

The 52-year-old Washington, D.C., native was a long-haired college student at the University of Vermont in 1979 when a dinner conversation with a Hilton Head resident planted the idea for a company that taught tourists how to windsurf. That conversation turned into a partnership, and Overton and his then-partner named their fledgling business Sailin’ Shoes, after a song by Little Feat. The partner soon changed course and moved to Vermont, but not before convincing Overton to give the beach idea a shot.

An old town Bluffton shop is bringing back a mad love for vintage looks.

On the Facebook page for her store, Madhouse Vintage, Caroline Noble sends out regular pop quizzes to her style-obsessed followers. “Tell me who you think wore this and when?” Noble asks about a 1970sera cotton sun dress, a full-length, sleeveless pink-and-green daisy print number with an empire waist (tied with a pink ribbon) and a scoop neckline. Its label reads: “The Daisy Pot – Honolulu.”

Some of Noble’s hundreds of followers begin to weigh in, guessing Elizabeth Taylor or Doris Day. But before too long, island resident Lindy Ellison Russell, wife of entertainer Gregg Russell and co-founder of Hilton Head Heroes, posts that she once owned the dress — and wore it to a Jimmy Buffett concert in Miami. Just like that, a Madhouse Vintage vignette is born.

How do we get things back on track? CoastalStates Bank chief Jim MacLeod says the answer is in continued government backing and increased lending oversight.

With a housing, mortgage and finance crisis still gripping the country and the national economic fabric in tatters, it’s time for a return to less conservative lending, an equilibrium in residential financing and an abandoning of fear, says CoastalStates Bank President and COO James S. MacLeod.

With three successful local restaurants and a nationwide expansion on the way, Price and Karen Beall share their fresh formula for food — and business.

I t’s safe to say that restaurateur Price Beall has always been involved with his two passions: food and wine.

Beall and his wife, Karen, are the masterminds behind Truffles, which has expanded to three locations and become an institution in Lowcountry dining — and is now looking to translate that success all across the country. “Truffles has been a work in progress,” Price said.

When the going gets tough, the tough reinvent themselves. At least that’s Beverly Martin’s business philosophy. Faced with an expiring lease and a challenging economy, the popular hairstylist and savvy salon owner made the bold decision to buck the headlines, renew and expand.

Le Spa gets a new look and a new lease on life special business spotlight Le Spa at Sea Pines Center, which has been providing clients with updated looks and new attitudes since 1993, has recently undergone a radical makeover. Renovations began in January and are expected to be complete mid-August.

“It became a family affair,” said Martin, extolling her husband and nephew, her daughter’s mother-in-law, and others who devoted energy, time and talent to the project to keep costs down.

Is it really possible to start a business in your garage with a relatively small amount of money and a great idea, and then turn it into a worldwide success?

In this economy, it’s a pretty rare sight to see a large business open its doors. But the folks at the new Candlewood Suites in Bluffton have a lot of faith in the local economy and in the community.