Timothy Grainger, a Summerville native and owner of West Ashley staple Timbo’s Boiled Peanuts truck, died of natural causes last weekend, Dorchester County Coroner Paul Brothers confirmed.
A friend found Grainger in his Summerville residence. He was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. Dec. 28.
Known affectionately by locals and tourists as “Timbo the Peanut Man,” Grainger sold boiled peanuts from a worn-out orange trailer on Ashley River Road for more than three decades. Timbo’s Boiled Peanuts opened in 1989 after Grainger “got tired of working for other people for $5.20 an hour,” he told the Charleston City Paper in a June 20 report.
Health issues, especially a battle with kidney failure, forced him to limit his hours and days of operation in recent years. Still, he spent about 12 hours a week boiling the peanuts, and sold about 100 pounds per day on the days he was open.
“I know how much time it takes to cook them, how much salt to add,” he said with a laugh. “I figured it all out after 35 years or so. … I’ve had people come out here asking, ‘How do you cook these?’ And I always say, ‘Hot water and peanuts.’ I ain’t telling.”
But dialysis three times a week and doctors’ appointments twice a week took a lot out of him, not just his business, he told the City Paper.
“After dialysis, I have enough strength to get home, about three miles away, and I have to take a nap,” he said. “It’s all I can do to lift the buckets for these peanuts. I used to sling them around like they were nothing.”
Still, he stayed positive, saying that despite the work getting harder, “It ain’t that bad.”
At the same time, Grainger feared rising rent would force him to shut the trailer down, resulting in an outpouring of support from locals. Nearly 1,000 people expressed their solidarity on Facebook, and Grainger’s name was printed in headlines all over the Lowcountry. He was able to move to a newer trailer (with a bright-orange paint job, of course) only blocks away from his old location.
Funeral arrangements were not available at press time.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.