Charleston Restaurant Report April 2016
ON THE MENU1. Green Scene – SUSTAINABLE OPERATING PRACTICES CAN PAY OFF2. Local Restaurant News – HOW SOON IS "COMING SOON"?3. Restaurant Openings, Closings and Coming Soon!4. National Restaurant Trends – GROCERS TAKING BITE OUT OF QSR SALESGREEN SCENESUSTAINABLE OPERATING PRACTICES CAN PAY OFFDarden Restaurants set an ambitious goal in 2009 to reduce energy & water usage by 15% in its 1,500 restaurants. By 2015, they had exceeded their goal. They did it by implementing sustainability practices that paid for themselves and didn't negatively affect employees or the customer experience. Adopting LED lighting, solar water heaters, and food waste diversion programs all helped reduce the company's energy footprint and waste stream. Smaller operators can follow Darden's lead and make a positive impact on the community and their bottom line.Click here to read the NRA's article.LOCAL RESTAURANT NEWSHOW SOON IS "COMING SOON"?Over the last several years in the Charleston area, a new restaurant has opened about every 3 days (roughly 30 per quarter) on average. Everyone in the local restaurant industry is too busy -- food & bev suppliers, restaurant managers looking for qualified staff; overworked contractors busy with upfits; and owners looking for new sites and chasing after contractors. Charleston's restaurant scene success has clearly produced some supply & demand headaches as a by-catch. The term "Coming Soon" has become a very loosely interpreted phrase for restaurant operators and developers struggling to open new projects.The "Coming Soon" list in this report attempts to name the restaurants that are expecting to open within the next 90-day quarter. Rarely do new restaurants open according to their owners' original schedule. I have a backlogged list of 33 more restaurants that are in various stages of "Coming Soon". They are not included in this issue's list because it's hard to say when they will actually open. However you choose to define "soon", it's fair to say that there are still plenty of new restaurants coming to this market in the future.RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!The following list reflects 1st Quarter 2016 market activity (January - March 2016):OPENINGS --60 Bull Café (Downtown – former Smith & Bull Café)843 Korean BBQ & Sushi House (N. Charleston – former Wong’s Asian Bistro)Butter Tapas (N. Charleston -- former Butter Cupcakes)Caribbean Delight (N. Charleston)Chicken Salad Chick (Mt. Pleasant)Community Pizza House (N. Charleston)Congress (Mt. Pleasant – former La Hacienda)Cook Out (Summerville)Dairy Queen (Goose Creek)Fill (Mt. Pleasant – former Mosaic)Gogogreens (Sullivans Island -- former Cafe Medley)Home Team BBQ (Downtown)I Love Juice Bar (Daniel Island)Low Tide Brewing (Johns Island)MOD Pizza (Downtown)North Central Delicatessen (Downtown)O-Bar (Downtown -- former A.W. Shuck's)Oyster House on the Market (Downtown -- former A.W. Shuck's)Panera Bread (Downtown)Peace Pie (Downtown)Star Taco (Mt. Pleasant -- former FED)Starbucks (West Ashley -- former Andolinis)Stems & Skins (N. Charleston)Sushi 101 (Summerville -- former Sweetgrass Cafe)The Bearded Cafe (Downtown)The Codfather (N. Charleston)The Darling (Downtown -- former Union Provisions)The Refuge (Isle of Palms -- former Bushido)Tijuana Flats (Summerville)Turquoise (Downtown -- former Firehouse Subs)Verde (Mt. Pleasant)WildFlour Pastry (W. Ashley – former Rococo)Zaxby’s (N. Charleston)CLOSINGS --A.W. Shuck's (Downtown)Applebee's (Mt. Pleasant)Arby's (Mt. Pleasant)Blind Tiger (Downtown)Bougnat (Mt. Pleasant)Boulevard Diner (Mt. Pleasant)Brasserie Gigi (Downtown)Heart Woodfire Kitchen (James Island)Leaf (Downtown)Palace Hotel (Downtown)Raul's Maya Del Sol (N. Charleston)Ryan's (West Ashley)SALT (Sullivans Island)Water Dog Grill (Mt. Pleasant)COMING SOON --Blues Burger Joint (James Island -- former Island Bar & Grill)Burger Fi (Mt. Pleasant)Clean Eatz (West Ashley)Crust (Summerville)Eggs Up Grill (Summerville)Le Farfelle (Downtown -- former Leaf)Luke's Craft Pizza (Downtown -- former Charleston Pizza)Persimmon Cafe (Summerville)NATIONAL RESTAURANT TRENDSGROCERS TAKING BITE OUT OF QSR SALESQuick service restaurant (QSR) operators are seeing increased competition from grocers and convenience stores, especially when it comes to grab-n-go dinner choices. It's a battle for market share, and the grocers seem to be doing well. You can see this shift in effect locally at Whole Foods in Mt P, for example, where they recently refurbished the prepared foods section to add more take-home prepared foods and eat-in dining options. Dive into the topic in Nation's Restaurant News.