Four decades on and still thriving, Mr. Bunky’s is a down-home hotspot. Why it’s still special
Local landmark and community country store Mr. Bunky’s Market has served South Carolinians for over four decades.
The man, the myth to some, and the local legend to many — Mr. Bunky — is, in fact, a real person and is alive and well.
The store is hard to miss, and so is Bunky Carter himself. Both are well-marked with signage that reads “MR. BUNKY’S,” one in red lettering outside and one on the front of his cap.
Carter is almost always found talking with a customer — people he treats like his friends because, well, at this point many of them are.
“I might not remember everyone’s names,” Carter said, “but I know almost every face.”
The two-story, barn-style building located on Garners Ferry Road between Sumter and Columbia was built from the ground up byCarter, Mr. Bunky himself, and his son with the help of local people after a fire in 1991.
Mr. Bunky’s is a one-stop shop. It sells hardware, seed and feed, consignments, some groceries, gas and oil, and of course, the meat market and restaurant being the biggest draws.
“I like the Southern style of being fed,” longtime lunchtime customer Leo Johnson said. “It’s always delicious.”
The restaurant can be found on the left side of the store, serving barbecue, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and almost every other Southern delicacy you can think of.
Bunky’s customers are people of all ages, race, and walks of life. Some live and work nearby, some are passersby on the way home from the beach, and many are men and women in uniform who come over from McEntire Joint National Guard Base to have a bite at lunchtime.
When Carter arrived in Columbia as a fresh high school graduate in 1958, his name was Hansel, and legally, it still is.
His first boss at a meat market on Forest Drive was the one who named him Bunky.
“My boss told me he didn’t really like my name,” Carter said. “When the first customer came in, he introduced me as Bunky, and it just stuck.”
Carter left Columbia and came to Eastover to train horses in 1963. He also had his hand in farming. Eventually, at age 40, he bought Po Boy’s Bait and Tackle and soon turned it into the famous Mr. Bunky’s.
At 84, Carter still comes into work seven days a week. He lives right behind the store and walks there each morning at 6 a.m. with his dogs, Tippy and Gretel.
That’s right, he has a Gretel to his Hansel.
When asked about retirement, Carter laughed and said, “I don’t know how. I guess I’ll have to let Dunbar (Funeral Home) decide that for me.”
Carter credits his store’s success with its location, consistency, and the good and friendly help that can be found in his employees.
“I love being around people,” said Nu Singh, who has worked at Mr. Bunky’s on and off since 2003. “Everybody knows everybody. It’s relaxed, and no one feels like they have to be proper, like a home feeling.”
Many of Mr. Bunky’s customers are regulars, and many come from all over the state.
“If you’re a country boy or a country girl, it’ll remind you of home,” Johnson said. “You have the chance to sit down with someone and have a good conversation, and when you run into them again, look, you’ve made a friend.”
To Carter’s delight, they’re seeing more and more new faces every day.
