For most of last year, the Compass Commons side of New Riverside Village had more promise than storefronts. As of this fall, the three restaurants that were waiting on construction are serving, and the corner of New Riverside Road and S.C. 46 now offers pizza, Italian dinner, a cafe, poke, ice cream, a pharmacy and a pet store, all a few minutes from the Hampton Lake gate. For the next three weeks, that shopping center pairs well with the busiest stretch of the Hampton Lake calendar.
What took until spring
In January, The Island Packet reported that Compass Commons had been through construction delays and timeline changes. At that point, three restaurant tenants were still listed with projected openings rather than firm dates. The forecast at the time put Local Pie around mid-February and Frosty Frog Cafe and Cafe Al Dente around early April, with final dates still to come.
Things moved more slowly than that. In an April 13 report, local food site Eat It and Like It said Local Pie would open its doors April 15. Today all three restaurants are taking orders. This fall is the first full season with every one of those spaces open.
The Compass Commons side, address by address
Most of the newer businesses sit in two buildings on Parkside Commons, three storefronts each, plus two restaurants a short walk away. Once you know the suite numbers, one parking spot can cover several stops.
135 Parkside Commons: Local Pie. This is the pizza stop, and it opened in mid-April according to the Eat It and Like It report. Online ordering and current hours are on Local Pie's own site.
147 Parkside Commons: Frosty Frog Cafe. Frosty Frog's website welcomes guests to this address and links to online ordering.
267 Parkside Commons, the first three-suite building:
- Suite 101 is Burke's Pharmacy. It posts hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, and it is closed Sunday.
- Suite 102 is Nom Nom Poke Shop, which opened in November 2025, according to The Island Packet.
- Suite 103 is Bluffton Ice Cream. Its posted seasonal hours are 2:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
303 Parkside Commons, the second three-suite building:
- Suite 101 is Pet Wants, and Suite 102 is STMT Boutique. The Island Packet reported that both opened May 31, 2025.
- Suite 103 is Cafe Al Dente. The restaurant calls itself Cafe Al Dente of New York and serves pasta, traditional Italian entrees, seafood and chef specials. Dinner hours start at 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and the site also takes reservations and online orders for pickup or delivery. The January coverage gave the address as 307 Parkside Commons. The restaurant's own site and ordering page use 303, so use 303 in your GPS.
Taken together, that list covers a lot of a normal week. You can pick up a prescription before 6 on a weekday, grab dinner, and get dessert next door, all without getting back on Bluffton Parkway.
The side that was already open
Compass Commons is the newer half of New Riverside Village. In May 2025, The Island Packet listed the businesses already operating across the development: Eggs Up Grill, Sakura Sushi & Ramen, Grind Coffee House, New York Butcher Shoppe, The Bluffs Spa, Lettrs Gifts, Parlour Nails & Spa, T Baguette & Boba and The Beauty Vault. T Baguette & Boba is at 321 Hope Pond Way, Suite 102. When it opened in spring 2025, the paper reported hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Wednesday. That list is more than a year old, so check hours before a first visit to any of these shops.
With both halves open, New Riverside Village can handle breakfast, coffee, the butcher counter, sushi, pizza, Italian dinner and ice cream. Until this year, that meant a drive farther up Buckwalter or toward Old Town.
Late October around the lake, and where dinner fits
The new restaurants matter most this month. The Hampton Lake schedule fills up just as the shopping center finishes filling in. These dates come from the community's Weekly Catch bulletin posted October 12 and from public town and visitor calendars. Member events register through the Hampton Lake member calendar.
- Through November 7: Scarecrow Contest. Members display homemade scarecrows in their front yards, and voting cards go to the Tackle Box by noon on November 2. An evening drive to see them pairs naturally with a cone from Bluffton Ice Cream on the way home.
- October 23: Town of Bluffton Spooktacular. It runs 5 to 7 p.m. at the Rotary Community Center and Field of Dreams, 7 Recreation Court.
- October 25: Rose Hill Charity Polo Match, listed on Visit Bluffton's events calendar.
- October 26: Pour Choices at Hampton Lake, per the bulletin's flyer.
- October 29: Beaufort County Book Mobile at New Riverside Barn Park Playground, 44 Red Barn Drive, from 2:30 to 3 p.m. A library stop there and an early dinner on Parkside Commons can share one trip.
- October 29: Bluffton Farmers Market and Bridge Collective Market, the last Thursday market on the town's October listing, at Martin Family Park, 68 Boundary Street.
- October 30: Scary Lighted Boat Parade on the lake. The bulletin links a parade route map. If you'd rather spend the evening on a dock than in a kitchen, a takeout order from Local Pie or Cafe Al Dente keeps it simple.
- October 31: Halloween. Door-to-door trick-or-treating runs that Saturday evening. Households that want to take part can get a sign from the Tackle Box during operating hours. The Halloween Spooky Buffet the same night has its menu and registration through the member calendar.
Into November
The calendar eases after Halloween but doesn't stop. A Wellness Wisdom session is set for November 3. On Sunday, November 8, Hampton Lake members join the Tunnels to Towers 5K Walk/Run at Rose Hill, which starts at 8:30 a.m. According to the bulletin, more than 150 members have taken part in past years and raised over $10,000 for the families of first responders and military personnel injured or killed in the line of duty. Visit Bluffton lists the Black & Gold Holiday Charity Gala for November 21.
One more name on Buckwalter
Not every new spot is on Parkside Commons. The Island Packet reported earlier this year that a Culver's was scheduled to open October 19 at 231 Buckwalter Place Blvd., near the Publix in the Buckwalter Place plaza, according to franchisee Thomas Zientek. Opening dates for new restaurants often shift, so check the Culver's location page before you plan around ButterBurgers and cheese curds.
When a new storefront opens near your street, it changes your weekly routine first. Later it can show up in how buyers see the area. If you're curious how New Riverside Village filling in fits the Hampton Lake picture, or what it might mean for your own plans, I'm happy to talk it through over coffee at Grind. Sabeth Biangone | Let's Connect
