|
Downtown diners drawn to epicurean suburbs
Appetite growing for suburban dining off the peninsula
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
Not many years ago, Charleston area diners in search of a fine meal almost always had to make a trip downtown. There were a few exceptions, but suburban restaurant pickings were generally slim.
Late-night offerings were even slimmer, unless the meal involved a drive-through window.
Today, Charleston’s suburbs are far more epicurean, drawing in diners from downtown along with the neighborhood crowd. They’re offering a smorgasbord of concepts and menus, plus that most elusive of downtown restaurant amenities: parking.
“It’s changed within the last four years,” said Brett Maynard, owner/chef of Fulton Five, a 13-year-old downtown establishment, and Twizt, a new dining spot tucked away in a James Island shopping center.
There has been a lack of cuisine-driven food off the peninsula, but that is slowly changing, Maynard said.
“I think the influx of a lot of non-Charlestonians has helped raise the bar, or raise the expectations, of what neighborhood restaurants should offer,” Maynard said. “When I first moved here…everyone was doing shrimp and grits. You couldn’t work in a restaurant that didn’t serve shrimp and grits. Fortunately, those days have kind of diminished. There’s a lot of people here, and they all live in the burbs. They have a higher expectation of cuisine, more worldly, I guess.”
Thanks to more cosmopolitan appetites, Charleston area residents can savor Spanish tapas at J. Paul’z on James Island or head a mile down the road for Cuban fare at El Bohio. Thai restaurants are dotting Charleston’s suburbs, and Brazilian fare has landed on Red Bank Road in Goose Creek.
Can the city’s restaurateurs expect to feel a negative impact from this plethora of fresh-faced competition?
In a word: “No,” said Al Parish, director of the Center for Economic Forecasting at Charleston Southern University.
“Pick a downtown restaurant and try to get a reservation,” Parish said. “They are jam-packed even on weekdays, in most cases. You can get a reservation, but it may not be until 9:45 p.m.”
Tourism is a big part of what keeps the downtown restaurant scene ticking, Parish said, but the population boom in the area ensures there are enough hungry consumers to go around.
“Nice restaurants are popping up in the suburbs because more people are living there and the higher population can support them and the higher income can support them,” Parish said.
Maverick attitude
Dick Elliott, founder of Maverick Southern Kitchens, thinks the market in downtown is as strong as ever.
Maverick Southern Kitchens operates Slightly North of Broad, which has been in business downtown for 13 years, and High Cotton, which opened on East Bay Street in 1999. Maverick also operates the Old Post House in Mount Pleasant and Charleston Cooks, a cooking school and retail venue.
“I think the reason you’re seeing new things pop up in the suburbs is the population is growing in the suburbs. It’s as simple as that,” Elliott said.
What does he see happening downtown?
Elliott described several trends as having a cumulative effect on downtown business, including population growth.
“The portion of that new growth … that prefers dining in nicer restaurants is growing,” Elliott said. “We have more professionals moving in; we have more business people moving in, people who have the income. Secondly, we’re continuing to see the same strong tourism business … but there are many more repeat visitors now. They’ve identified the places they want to go back to. Thirdly, we see a major phenomenon in the great increase in the number of business travelers. I think that’s a sign of the economy here in Charleston.”
Establishing relationships with customers, whether they dine three times a year or twelve times a month, is another way of providing a base to support a business that changes day-to-day, he said.
“I would emphasize this: We are part of a very dynamic restaurant scene in downtown Charleston,” Elliott said. “It takes many great restaurants to create that.”
Life off the peninsula
Sal Parco opened the first Mustard Seed restaurant with seven tables in a small Mount Pleasant location in 1995. Those humble beginnings have blossomed into a restaurant group that has four restaurants and a bakery in Mount Pleasant, as well as Mustard Seed locations in James Island and Summerville. Parco now has 200 employees who serve a clientele he characterizes as about 85% local.
“I’ve always thought about doing something downtown, but I’m perfectly content in the suburbs,” Parco said. “It’s a great place, and I wouldn’t want a business anywhere else. We get the same clientele that goes downtown. I think there’s a lot to offer in Mount Pleasant, and there’s more ethnic restaurants coming into the area. You’ve got people from all over, and they’ve done a lot of traveling in every direction.”
Christian Condon opened Triangle Char & Bar four weeks ago in West Ashley’s Avondale neighborhood, which is also home to Al Di La, a Northern Italian restaurant. Condon said the neighborhood is up-and-coming.
“You’ve got your beatnik feel up here, you’ve got bars you can bounce around to, it’s very pedestrian-friendly,” Condon said. “I would say 40 to 50 percent of customers definitely live in the neighborhood. We have regulars you see quite often, and they just walk right over.”
Cleve Shurtz opened Lulu’s Bistro Dec. 8 on Maybank Highway in the Riverland Terrace section of James Island. Shurtz said he gets a good deal of traffic from Kiawah and Seabrook islands.
“They’re not going all the way downtown, but they still feel they’ve gotten a downtown dining experience,” Shurtz said. “It’s convenient. There’s lots of parking.”
Even North Charleston’s original business district along East Montague Avenue is sprouting new dining spots. While national chain restaurants such as Olive Garden and Carabba’s have moved farther north to the commercial hub around Northwoods Mall, smaller, locally owned restaurants such as Park Circle Coffee & Cream have settled on East Montague. A recent art walk in the neighborhood brought a wave of customers.
“We had piles of people down here,” said Lisa Reynolds, a North Charleston business owner. “I feel the more (restaurants) we have on East Montague, the more exposure for all businesses.”
Business is booming
While suburbanites can expect to find better food and more variety in their neighborhoods, downtown restaurants seem to be holding their own.
According to Elliot, the Maverick group is in its fourth consecutive year of month-over-month increases.
The old guard of Charleston cuisine also seems to be happy with the downtown market.
“We still do as much business as we’ve ever done,” said Steve Kish of 82 Queen, now in its 25th year of business. Kish and partner Joe Sliker are the restaurant’s original owners.
“We have some employees who have been here more than 20 years,” Kish said. “We get a lot of repeat business. More than 60 to 70 percent of our customers have been here before. We have at least one bridal shower or wedding party a week.”
Sales this year are climbing on par with last year, said Kish.
“Some people talk about business being a little bit off downtown, but we’ve been lucky enough to say ours is steady,” Kish said.
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version