Mia Birkelbach, center, has purchased the Corner Perk Okatie location from Josh Cooke, right. She has changed the name to Tangerine’s Café and Bakery, and with the help of Fernando Lossada, left, will focus on pastries, cakes and breakfast sandwiches and will serve Corner Perk coffee.

It’s a New Year, and the entrepreneurial spirit is stronger than ever in the Lowcountry. Here is a look at the businesses that have sprung up in our latest new business update.

• Emma’s Earth Shop, 1256 Fording Island Road, Suite 130, Bluffton, 843-271-3568: The Bay Street fixture has opened a location at the Tanger 1 outlet next to Famous Footwear. Here you’ll find a hand-picked rock shop that puts love into every piece while sharing the purposes behind every stone. Come learn about CBD with their knowledgeable staff or perhaps pick up a turtle box, a necklace or amethyst.

• Hilton Head Island Coffee Roasters, 843-321-9075: This is Suzanne Winters’ first roasting business but not her first coffee business. The West Coast import first moved to Washington, D.C., in 2017 and ran the Wheelys outdoor coffee bike company, wheeling coffee around the Capitol. Winters and her family moved to the Lowcountry and began brewing their own blends, which have quickly become a word-of-mouth hit. Her holiday chocolate, nutty, cozy, blend, Love Actually, was a big hit at the Root and Bloom Markets each first and third Sunday at Martin Family Park. You can also find the brew at the Hilton Head Farmers Market each Tuesday at the Coastal Discovery Museum.

• Absolutely Perfect!, 6 Promenade Street, Bluffton, 843-422-6940: Owner Danie Connolly is a New England import by way of Florida. She’s a serial entrepreneur, artist and chef, and has accumulated 50 years worth of antiques, furniture, lamps, collectibles and artwork that she is excited to share with the Lowcountry community. Come visit her and fellow artist Robbie Dean on their mission to make old stuff cool again. And join in on the painting, cooking, upholstery and charcuterie classes taught by Connolly herself. Read more about their snowbird exhibit on page 35.

• Tacos Go Food Truck, 9 Godfrey Place, 843-298-8938, Bluffton: Bacon Diner owner Omar Vallejo has launched his dream food truck behind the laundromat and next to the new Bluffton Goodwill location off Bluffton Road. Vallejo promises to bring the same passion to his fresh-made tacos that he has put behind Bacon Diner to make it a breakfast and lunch staple restaurant in Bluffton. The truck is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and accepts cash only.

• Marsh on the May, 43 Boundary Street, Bluffton: Leslie Trenta is the founder of this new home décor store in Old Town. She owned an interior design store for 17 years in the D.C. area and is excited to bring her love of bright and bold patterns and show clients how they too can be bold while creating stylish comfort and elegant design. Check out her and husband Jack’s newly renovated shop and be sure to say hello to puppy Maisey Mae, the store’s first official employee and official greeter.

• Tangerines Café and Bakery, 6a Young Clyde Court, Okatie, 843-304-1164: The Corner Perk Okatie has new owners and a new name, according to a post from CP founder Josh Cooke. “Mia Birkelbach is a kind, hard working, smiling face, who is always looking for ways to not only improve our drinks and food, but also our customer experience. We have loved watching her grow over the past couple years, and she has easily transitioned into one of our top leaders at the Corner Perk.

“I am very proud, to share with you, that Mia is purchasing the Corner Perk Okatie location. Along with a large emphasis on homemade pastries and cakes, breakfast sandwiches, and a few awesome family recipes, Mia will continue serving your favorite Corner Perk coffee and lattes. (And a couple new ones that I can’t wait to try!)”

Birkelbach and Fernando Lossada spent the last couple weeks of December transforming the Corner Perk space into Tangerines and are ready to start 2022 with a new look and the same focus on customers first.

• White Raven Private Pet Services, Bluffton, 843-298-0602: Owner Alison Gravier offers bonded and insured grooming, pet sitting, dog walking, day care pick up and dropoff, as well as private in-home, one-on-one cage- and kennel-free grooming. Gravier has won raves on Bluffton Nextdoor pages for her work with pets running from pups and kittens to mature pets.

• Go Green Pest Control, 440-226-9937, gogreenpestcontrol.net: Owners Mike Martin and Chad Gotliebowski have both been visitors to the Lowcountry their entire lives. The Cleveland natives decided to branch out their company to include the Bluffton area to offer their all natural and low-dose pesticide applications to limit harm to the environment. They also handle wildlife trapping and exclusion work, termites and bird control.

• B Cares Concierge, 843-816-1981, bcaresconcierge.com: Benisha Brown has been involved in home health care for 16 years, but caring for an elderly family member recently inspired her to start her own business. Brown will handle a full array of services for seniors, including senior care advocacy, mobile notary services, wellness care checks, property management, downsizing assistance, relocation, appointment and transportation assistance, mail pick up/drop off, grocery shopping, errand services.

Businesses that are oh so close

• Keep an eye out for a new breakfast, lunch and dinner spot opening up in Riverwalk in a familiar location. The former Cheap Seats Riverwalk building at 61A Riverwalk Boulevard is being transformed into Stormy’s, a family-run operation with a bar and a pizza menu as well. More on the eatery in our next issue.

• We’ve written about Mama G’s and the Ice Cream Stop in this space before. Mama G’s Pizza Bistro and Bar is now targeting a February opening in the Moss Creek plaza and looking for team members (email bridgette@mamagpizzahhi.com if interested). Same can be said for the Ice Cream Shop, which is looking at an early 2022 launch at May River Crossing (and looking for staff as well, email thescoop@theicecreamshop.com).

Tim Wood is a veteran journalist based in Bluffton. Email your business updates to him at timwood@blufftonsun.com