The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce capped 2025 with 110+ new members, record events, and growth driven by both startups and longtime businesses.
SUMTER, S.C. — The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce is beginning 2026 by highlighting a year of growth, connection, and new opportunities for businesses across the community.
Chamber leaders said the organization’s role as a connector between businesses and the community has never been more important.
According to the chamber, more than 110 new members joined in 2025. Of those, 75% were brand-new businesses, while others had already been operating in Sumter for years.
Chamber President Brianna Wise said that balance reflects both new opportunity and long-term investment in the local economy.
“But for the chamber, we are very diverse,” Wise said. “Eight hundred members. And we range from large manufacturing industries like eVAC to educational institutions, down to cleaning services or cafes. It is very diverse. And again, we pride ourselves on being a resource for the community. So that way, if there’s someone that wants to call the chamber and say, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about opening this type of business.’”
In addition to welcoming new members, the chamber held 28 ribbon cuttings in 2025 and hosted more than 87 programs and events, many of which saw record-high attendance.
One of those ribbon cuttings celebrated Friends Café, a new business opened by James Deaton, whose inspiration came during a difficult period for his family.
“How this came about, me and my wife, we both have cancer, and our journey started at South Carolina Oncology. My wife would do treatments there; then, when South came to Sumter, and we transferred over to here, we were doing treatments,” Deaton said. “And so, we were asking the nurses what they did for lunch and stuff because of having the other place in mind. And they said, ‘Well, sometimes we had to fend for ourselves.’ And I knew there was an old coffee shop. It used to be right here, and I started thinking, and so, we opened up.”
The chamber also recognized established businesses continuing to invest in the community.
Undisrupted Barbershop, a Sumter staple for more than a decade, held a ribbon-cutting this year after owner Lee Burgess joined the chamber in 2025.
“It is good for growing your business; it gets you exposure on their platforms as well as your platforms, and makes opening a business that may never get otherwise,” Burgess said. “I recommend to anyone trying to get their business to the next level.”
Wise said the chamber’s goal for 2026 is to bring even more small businesses into the area while continuing to support growth and new opportunities throughout Sumter.