Welcome to 300 Main

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300 Main Mercantile has a rich history. This begins in the 1800’s – between 1884-1889 when the building was constructed. It was originally a general store, grocery store, drugstore, post office, and had a meat market upstairs. The Keowee Courier, a local paper that is still in publication today- tells some juicy history about the building. Around 1900, a fire burned a good portion of Main Street, and 300 E Main suffered some damage. The postmaster was hailed a hero for rescuing the town’s mail in the nick of time. (Would anyone do this today?) The upstairs tenants had a payout of about $1700 which was a lot for the time. The general store that was in the first space lost a good bit as well but only received a small payout and this was detailed in the paper.

After this event- the building was built stronger with a brick façade, the same one it has today. It was damaged sometime from the 1980’s-2000’s with sandblasting, becoming brittle- thus the paint that now covers the exterior.

Speaking of paint- Owners Mike and Alisaun were looking for a building to house Alisaun’s store Sunni Ann Mercantile Co. She had a vision for opening a mercantile, like the ones in the history of the building. After 12 years in corporate property management, being in business as a maker and having a retail booth at local store M. Tannery & Son’s downtown Seneca, a brick-and-mortar was the next step. They heard about 300 E Main through a realtor before it was on the market and quickly invested. They closed in July 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Walhalla’s walkable Mainstreet, busy traffic, and smiling faces, made it the perfect place to invest. Thinking it would take some paint and a couple of contractors, they quickly realized the scope of the work AFTER purchase. Contractors would not show up, and because of the pandemic normal supplies were hard to get. 300 E Main had to be stripped to the studs to bring it up to code as it had suffered many years of neglect and was in sad disrepair. This made the project larger than most. The stench inside alone was enough to send many (5 to be exact) commercial contractors running! With Mike running his busy Asphalt Paving Company and Alisaun busy with her first stages of Sunni Ann, plus all the other things they had going on, they had no time to manage the reno. They persevered, in spite of the setbacks- hiring subcontractors, and 300 Main started to come together. Sunni Ann Mercantile opened in the spring of ’21, in the first space, where the original general store was. Mike’s Mom shopped there in the 1950s as a child, buying candy with her sisters; after walking the short distance from the Mill Hill behind Main. (Mike and Alisaun didn’t know about her connection until after the purchase!)

After opening Sunni Ann in May of '21 (originally Sunni Ann Rustic Shop before a name change) the town support and area excitement for the store made it very busy, causing The Residences completion to be delayed. In October Sunni Ann expanded into the 2nd middle retail space (that of the original Post Office). After Sunni Ann’s expansion, they were able to finally finish the Residences in May 2022. They are excited to finally see the completed floorplans they drew on the floor right after closing in 2020, and have guests enjoy the space. In October of  of '22 Alisaun opened her second retail store Glam Gal Luxury Brands. Glam Gal is a 2nd hand authentic luxury bag boutique. 

If you are looking for more historic information about this building, or the town, there are several great resources that we will be happy to direct you to, you can contact us at any of the contact points listed on our first page. Check out the historic photo, it was taken before or around time of the Main Street fire. You can see the original 300 E Main, the 3rd building from the left.

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Thank you for taking the time to read this. We are excited to share this story with you and our labor of love for this historic building. We hope that you enjoy your time in Walhalla.

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For Alisaun's bio and more info this project see this SC Voyager article here:

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https://southcarolinavoyager.com/interview/hidden-gems-meet-alisaun-crenshaw-of-sunni-ann-mercantile-co/

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