A Taste of the South Pecans, Candy & Gift Tins Catalog

A Taste of the South Pecans, Candy & Gift Tins

A Taste of the South was a family-owned Columbia, South Carolina confectioner that built its identity around Southern sweets — most notably chocolate-covered pecans — sold as candies, gift tins, and gift baskets. As of a 2019 profile in the local press, the business was described as roughly 30 years old and led by president and chief executive Elie Abikhaled, placing its founding in the late 1980s. Its specialty was the kind of regional confection that traveled well as a gift: Southern pecans and candies packed into custom tins for holidays, corporate giving, and occasions.

For much of its history A Taste of the South operated from a location on Broad River Road in Columbia. In April 2019 the company relocated to a 4,500-square-foot space at 2222 Sumter Street in the historic Cottontown neighborhood — a renovated former Loomis Armored maintenance building that also housed the company's online order-packaging operations. Local coverage framed the move as a bet on Cottontown becoming a premier Columbia corridor, with an expanded storefront carrying work by local artists and craftspeople alongside the company's classic Southern pecans and candies.

In the years that followed, however, the catalog's retail and mail-order presence wound down. The business's website has displayed a placeholder "under construction" page in archived snapshots rather than a working storefront, and by early 2026 the Columbia location was listed as closed, with the company's social media indicating a location transition. A Taste of the South no longer appears to operate as an active catalog or online store.

What A Taste of the South Offered

• Chocolate-covered pecans — The signature Southern confection that anchored the brand's gift assortments
• Southern candies — Regional sweets and confections sold loose and in assortments
• Gift tins — Custom tins of pecans and candy aimed at holiday and corporate gifting
• Gift baskets — Assembled Southern-themed gift baskets for occasions

Catalog Legacy

The A Taste of the South catalog is no longer in circulation, and the company's Columbia, SC storefront and online store are not currently operating. This entry documents the business as a regional Southern confectioner — a Columbia pecan-and-candy maker that relocated to the Cottontown neighborhood in 2019 before winding down. It is preserved here as a reference for the brand name and its history rather than as an active ordering source.

Where to Buy Southern Confections & Gift Baskets Now

A Taste of the South is no longer in operation. For chocolate, pecans, and specialty-food gift baskets, these active catalogs profiled on CatalogDB are good starting points:

• Seroogy's Chocolates — chocolates, candy, and coffee from a long-running family confectioner.
• The Fruit Company — gourmet fruit and gift baskets shipped nationwide.
• Southern Season — Carolina specialty foods, gift baskets, and confections.

References

• A Taste of the South to hold Grand Opening in Cottontown (ColaDaily) – 2019 relocation, founding background, ownership, and product line
• A Taste of the South moving to Cottontown (Columbia Business Report) – Cottontown move and business history
• A Taste of the South on Facebook – company social presence and transition notices