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To the delight of downtown business owners and boaters at the waterfront, Beau Dega opened on Thursday, May 22 at 128 West Main Street in Washington. 

Modeled after bodegas in New York City, Beau Dega offers a selection of snacks, sodas, ice cream, grab and go salads and sandwiches, household items and more. It’s a convenient way to quickly grab what you need while you’re out and about. (Beau Dega is currently working to include alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets to its inventory). 

Beau Dega is a play on words with bodega and Beaufort. Beau Dega is equally playful in its decor. The walls are painted neon blue and the trim is painted neon pink. A nod to traditional bodegas are cat statues throughout the shop. In most New York City bodegas, cats are kept in the shop as pets but they also control rodents.  

The store owners are brother and sister duo Scott Penhollow and Jenny Penhollow Pierce. In 1984, they moved to Washington from Wisconsin after their dad found a roofing job in the area. 

Scott and Jenny grew up in Washington. Jenny’s first job was at the Bojangles on Carolina Avenue and Scott worked at Jimmy’s Newsstand on Market Street. When they were growing up, Main Street looked nothing like it does now. To teenage Scott and Jenny, it was the place where kids rode their bikes up and down the street. 

“We grew up here on West Second Street. There was nothing,” Jenny said. “You didn’t come downtown. We’d come ride our bikes and hang out on the waterfront. There was like one or two stores – a pawn shop and maybe some other things,” Jenny said. 

Scott added, “I’d come down here and go to work, but I don’t remember getting off work and ever wanting to hangout downtown, because there was nothing going on.” 

Jenny said in the last five years, Main Street has “just exploded,” and is nothing like her childhood memory. She said “it’s cool” to be part of the recent revitalization of downtown. 

Scott hopes downtown continues to see more economic development in the future. Too, he would like to see more events held downtown. “I’d like to see more people as well. Maybe more events.”