A new deli, small event venue and artist retail spaces rolled into one location is planning to open soon in downtown Charleston.
Niche on Capitol, located at 122 Capitol St. next to the Peanut Shoppe, will house the Lucky Dill deli shop and three retail spaces for local artists along with the Mezzanine, a 500-square-foot venue that can be reserved for live entertainment, networking events and more, according to owner Michael Creech.
Creech said he anticipates the entire space to open by June.
The Lucky Dill will be the hub of the space, according to its owner, Rick Harper. It will sell custom sandwiches with Boar's Head meat, along with various food platters, regional craft beers and wine from the Spencer-based Chestnut Ridge Winery.
Harper said he is aiming for the Lucky Dill to have a soft opening May 26 to align with the start of FestivALL's Preview Weekend. The deli's hours are not set in stone, but Harper expects it to open around 10 a.m. each day and stay open into the evening when craft beer and wine is in higher demand.
The artist retail spaces adjacent to the Lucky Dill are available for rent, Creech said. He added that he is open to other ideas in using the spaces, but said they are likely best suited for consignment shops for local artists.
"It's for whatever artists want to come in," he said. "[The spaces] probably wouldn't be staffed. Customers could have merchandise they want to buy at the deli counter."
Creech said he has had discussions with the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts about potential artists to feature.
Niche on Capitol will have items from the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, including sheet music, photos, posters and albums, adorning its walls, Creech said.
Although Creech isn't a native West Virginian, he has spent a lot of time in the Charleston area in recent years.
The North Carolina-based Custom Smiles Dental Laboratory, which Creech also owns, established a satellite location in Cross Lanes a few years ago. He visited the location several times since its opening and quickly became attached to Charleston, eventually buying a studio apartment on the third floor of where Niche on Capitol plans to open.
Creech thought the first floor of the building had the potential to be redeveloped into a viable business. He soon connected with Harper, who had been thinking about leaving his desk job and starting his own venture for quite some time.
"I travel a lot, and one thing I have noticed in every nice city is that it has a really good deli," he said. "I thought Charleston needed one, and it'd be good to have it on Capitol Street since it's so historic."
Since Harper's deli would only take up the front half of the floor, Creech looked to find a purpose for the back half. He concluded a small event space would be the best way to go.
"I was really impressed with the trendiness here [in Charleston]," Creech said. "With so many stories out there about how people are moving out of West Virginia, I wanted to do my part to bring people back."
Reach Max Garland at max.garland@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @MaxGarlandTypes on Twitter.