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Johns Island’s loss is Summerville area’s gain
By Jessica Johnson
Contributing Writer
The Noisy Oyster restaurant chain quietly left Buzzard’s Roost Marina on Johns Island after a Washington, D.C., developer bought the boating facility along Maybank Highway.
However, the local seafood chain plans to open with a blast in a Summerville area location in the coming months.
The Noisy Oyster chain purchased the former home of Backyard Burgers, across the parking lot from Wal-Mart on Dorchester Road, and plans to renovate the building and add an additional 2,500 square feet of space. It will be decorated to match the decor found in the Noisy Oyster restaurants on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston and at the corner of East Bay and Market streets in downtown Charleston.
“You won’t even recognize the building when we are done with it,” said Brett Yearout, who co-owns the local seafood chain with Wade Boals.
Yearout had hoped to open the North Charleston/Summerville location as early as November, but that forecast now extends to late December or early 2007. After plans are approved, construction could be complete within 90 days, he said.
The owners have known they would need a new location for some time. The development firm IBG Investors LLC had been examining Buzzard’s Roost Marina and Stono River Marina before buying both last month as Stono Marina Partners LLC. Stono Marina Partners has new plans for the facilities, Yearout said.
“The restaurant wouldn’t mix in with them,” Yearout said.
The Noisy Oyster had a short-term lease with the former owners of Buzzard’s Roost Marina. The men formulated an exit strategy that included ceasing operations at the Johns Island location on Labor Day. Yearout and his partner had been hunting for a new location for about a year, he said.
Although Backyard Burgers closed, Yearout said he has no doubts about assuming the same spot.
“The demographics of the area are great. It’s a growing area that has lots of residents,” Yearout said.
The new location of the third Noisy Oyster takes the restaurant from depending on tourism to building a steady year-round market.
The Johns Island restaurant experienced high sales during tourist season and low sales when the season ended, while the current North Charleston site on Rivers Avenue has steady sales all year, Yearout said.
The new location will make for a better business environment, he said.
“I think we will do more sales over there than on Johns Island,” Yearout said.
The seafood restaurant had been locally owned and operated for more than 10 years. The Noisy Oyster’s menu includes fresh seafood, locally caught fish and 35-year-old family recipes for Lowcountry fish stew and “Noisy Oyster world famous crab dip.”
“I look forward to doing business with the good folks in Summerville,” Yearout said.
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