Refrigerated Trailer for Rent in West Ashely, SC

Joe Walker swore he’d never open a restaurant again, but here he is a decade later feeding a need for West Ashley.

Walker’s’ newest venture, Café Roca, sits in a Highway 61 retail center next to Home Team BBQ. Opening Feb. 24, the restaurant is a joint venture between Walker, his wife Diana and business partner Shannon Wakeland. The eatery will serve breakfast, lunch and coffee to locals and commuters on the go, in particular.

Think of a box of hand-held breakfast bites suitable for a slog through the morning traffic. Wontons filled with egg, bacon, whipped herb cream cheese, green onion, eel sauce and sriracha aioli.

"I knew it was the right place for breakfast and lunch," said Walker, who owns the Pilates studio next door. "I thought there was a big void in that area."

Café Roca’s neighbors include Stuart Laurence Salon, Crew Lala dog boutique, Shift Pilates and, until recently, Taco Bartina.

Ten years ago, Walker opened Studio 8, a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant on Folly Road on James Island that he operated for three years.

He swore off the food-and-beverage industry when it shuttered, but through a series of serendipitous events, he and his wife opened Shift Pilates at 1305 Ashley River Road last September.

Walker’s original plan called for a coffee shop in the studio, but the project would have been too pricey with the space and permitting.

When A Salt and Battered, the locally owned fish and chippery, closed next door around the same time, Walker said the landlord came back.

“He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Walker said with a laugh.

The business owner has spent several months renovating the restaurant, conscious of the elements used. His team stripped the walls down to the original brick, renovated exposed beams and added metal tables for people to sit and enjoy a meal.

Menu selections include "traffic bites" like the wontons, street tacos, toasts, bagels, bowls and sandwiches all “elevated” twists on original favorites. The Green Eggs and Ham, for example, adds avocado to the egg yolk for a spin on the deviled egg. Salads include seared tuna and carne asada.

The Chopped Cheese harkens to the popular New York sandwich with a burger chopped up into a hoagie roll.

Walker’s enthusiasm for the menu is just as prevalent as his excitement for the vibe. The back wall of the restaurant is decorated with 20 CDs that impacted his life. Each month he plans to make a themed playlist customers can listen to in the restaurant and at home.

The name Roca after all comes from the Spanish word for rock.

“My wife suggested it and after playing with the word, I liked the dual meaning of earthy foundation of earth and strength as well as rock and roll," Walker said.

The restaurant is bound to catch attention from residents such as Ben Greco, Morgan Martin and the roughly 54,000 other Charleston locals who regularly drive by the retail strip center.

“I love that little drag and I never pull over to it,” Martin said. “I haven’t been to much besides Home Team, so having a coffee shop or somewhere I could go and sit would make me a return customer.”

New dad Greco, who works from home down the street, said the shopping center can be tough to access, but luckily there's ample parking in the back of the building. He's looking forward to trying something new without having to hit up Savannah Highway during the heavy morning traffic or lunch hour rush.

“I used to go to Taco Bartina a lot, so that shopping center needs something else the locals can go to," he said. "I'm really looking forward to something new coming in."

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A Lowcountry couple faces thousands of dollars in repairs after they say water in diesel fuel purchased in West Ashley damaged their vehicle.

Adrienne Lett and her partner Uriel Salazar contacted the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to request diesel fuel be tested after they filled up their 2023 GMC Truck at the Circle K on Ashley River Road on New Year’s Eve. Lett said they were able to make the short drive home, but the next morning was another story.

“We tried to drive the car. I guess we tried to drive the truck out of our driveway and it stalled almost immediately. It completely stopped working,” Lett said.

Salazar’s truck started to make an erratic rattling noise and he got a notification saying water was detected in the gas tank.

“That’s when I started freaking out because I have this $100,000 asset that I’ve been taking like pristine care of over the last two years and to have it just not work anymore. It was very frustrating,” Salazar said.

The SCDA’s report listed traces of water and sediment in the fuel. While waiting for the results, they both continued to contact Circle K for answers, but say they haven’t received much in return.

“For us, we’re lucky we have multiple cars, but if this was one family truck and you relied on it for work and now you’re out of work for over a week, that’s very frustrating for a lot of families,” Salazar said.

Since the SCDA report came back, the diesel pumps now have zip ties and red tags saying they’re not for use.

“Ultimately, we shouldn’t have to pay for this,” Lett said. “This is it’s not our fault as this is the gas station’s fault and they should have coverage for this and whatnot and it shouldn’t be on us.”

Lett and Salazar both said they want to spread this news because they’re now starting to wonder how many people have had this problem.

Circle K did not respond to a request for comment.

Anyone who thinks they have purchased contaminated should contact SCDA at 803-737-9700, the number listed on the SCDA inspection sticker attached to the pump, the agency’s website states. The receipt from the purchase or the type, grade, date and pump number will help investigators trace potential issues with the gasoline.

“Consumer Services, a division of SCDA, investigates complaints on motor fuel quality and/or quantity issues,” the website states. “Customers can assist in this process by contacting SCDA as soon as possible after the purchase so that we may dispatch an inspector to visually inspect and collect a sample for lab analysis while the product is still available.”

The SCDA can provide a copy of the lab analysis that consumers can use to support their claims.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

A Charleston insurer marking its 100th anniversary has been ordered to stop issuing new policies in South Carolina after regulators determined its financial condition to be "hazardous" under a directive that is now on hold.

Atlantic Coast Life, which is headquartered in West Ashley and once owned the iconic downtown building that now houses the Wentworth Mansion, had been operating under confidential state supervision since last spring, along with the affiliated Southern Atlantic Re Inc.

The S.C. Department of Insurance recently released details of its investigation into the companies "as part of our ongoing efforts to protect the consumers of South Carolina,” said Michael Wise, the agency's director.

“We will continue to work with our fellow state regulators to ensure companies conducting insurance business are adequately funded in compliance with the law,” Wise added in a written statement.

The public disclosure drew a sharp rebuke from Advantage Capital, the owner of the two insurers.

“While we remain committed to working with our regulatory counterparts, we completely disagree with South Carolina’s assertions and their sudden decision to breach confidentiality," a spokesman for New York-based A-Cap said in a written statement.

The state last month directed Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic to stop writing new business, including life insurance policies and income-producing annuities. The order was put on hold Dec. 30, a day before it was to take effect.

The South Carolina crackdown follows nearly identical actions that Utah announced last year against three other carriers that A-Cap owns. The two states have been working together on a "full examination" since last January.

Regulators are concerned that A-Cap has heavily invested money from policyholders into businesses under its control, raising potential conflicts of interest.

South Carolina flagged to a credit-rating report issued in February that questioned the company's risk-management practices. The analysis from A.M. Best pointed to the "uncertainty of the quality of assets" backing the capital reserves for A-Cap's insurance operations, including Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic.

The state put the carriers and their owner under confidential supervision April 10. It cited their close financial ties to a Miami private equity firm called 777 Partners with "extensive" interests in airlines and sports teams, as well as insurance businesses.

The department then disallowed more than $660 million in investments Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic provided to help measure their financial strength and ability to pay claims. It also determined the two insurers were severely undercapitalized once the numbers were recalibrated.

A-Cap said it stands behind the financial information it has submitted. Atlantic Coast Life and Southern Atlantic "will continue to be strong," it added.

"South Carolina’s conclusions are incorrect based on an apparent misinterpretation of their own statute. ... We look forward to correcting the errors in South Carolina’s position on this matter," the spokesman said in the prepared remarks.

A-Cap bought Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co. in 2015 from the family that co-founded the business in Charleston 90 years earlier.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to show the S.C. Department of Insurance's order was put on hold effective Dec. 30.