Charleston Restaurant Report April 2019
ON THE MENU
1. Green Scene – SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES DRIVEN BY LATEST CONSUMER TRENDS
2. Local Restaurant News – THIRTY MORE RESTAURANTS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
3. Restaurant Openings, Closings and Coming Soon Lists!
4. National Restaurant Trends – PHILADELPHIA BANS CASHLESS RESTAURANTS
GREEN SCENE
SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES DRIVEN BY LATEST CONSUMER TRENDS
According to Modern Restaurant Management magazine, there are three driving forces pushing restaurant sustainability practices forward: 1) Localization -- consumers want to know where their food comes from. Are you buying locally? 2) Social Responsibility -- what happens to restaurant food waste? 3) Transparency -- Can you show customers quantifiable results of your sustainability practices? How many meals did you donate? What local food companies do you buy from? How many pounds of food waste did you recycle? If you cannot show actual results, you may risk alienating your customer base. Read more about the trends here....
LOCAL RESTAURANT NEWS
30 MORE RESTAURANTS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
The restaurant openings just keep coming....Another 30 or so restaurants opened in the last 90 days alone with a long list of future openings in various stages of development. We are privileged to live in an area that attracts the wide variety of concepts and the skilled artisans willing to set up shop and compete in a crowded marketplace. Looking at the latest openings list, I truly wish I had the time to give all the newcomers a try. Some of these concepts may permanently close before I get there, but it's exciting to think that others on the list may be entertaining Charleston diners for the next 50 years.
RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
Openings + Closings lists reflect 1st Quarter 2019 market activity (Jan - March):
OPENINGS --
132 Spring Coffee & Kitchen Bar (Downtown – former Eclectic Café)
A Salt n Battered (West Ashley – former Thai Spice)
Andolini’s (Summerville)
Baker & Brewer (Downtown – former DeSano’s Pizza)
Basil (North Charleston – former Lotus)
Beech (Daniel Island)
Betty Lou’s Bistro (West Ashley)
Camellia’s (Downtown)
Coorg Indian Café (Mt. Pleasant)
Dalila’s (Downtown – former Crooked Crown)
Fiat Lux (Downtown)
First Watch (Summerville)
Florie’s at Commonhouse (North Charleston)
FUYU (Johns Island – former Loophole)
Gabrielle (Downtown)
Hooked Seafood (Downtown -- former Noisy Oyster)
La Patisserie (Downtown)
Maison (Downtown -- former Pancito & Lefty)
Malagon (Downtown – former Artisan Meat Share)
Marco’s Pizza (West Ashley)
Pink Cactus (Downtown – former Nacha Mama’s)
Popeye’s (Summerville)
RuRu’s Tacos & Tequila (Downtown – former Marion’s)
Rusty Crab Seafood Bar & Grill (North Charleston)
Starbucks (Mt. Pleasant)
The Cracked Egg (West Ashley – former Clean Eatz)
The Habana Club (North Charleston)
Topsail Restaurant & Bar (Mt. Pleasant – former Finz)
Tropical Smoothie Café (West Ashley)
Wild Common (Downtown – former Cannon Green)
CLOSINGS --
Andolini’s (North Charleston)
Baker & The Farmer (Johns Island)
Bluerose (West Ashley)
Church’s Chicken (Downtown)
Congress (Mount Pleasant)
Craftsmen Kitchen & Tap House (Downtown)
Kitchen 208 (Downtown)
Loophole (Johns Island)
Madra Rua (North Charleston – due to fire)
Noisy Oyster (Downtown)
Old Village Post House (Mount Pleasant)
Parson Jack's Cafe (West Ashley)
COMING SOON (expected to open in 2nd quarter '19) --
Agaves Cantina (Mt. Pleasant)
Binky’s Seaside Oyster & Liquor Bar (IOP – former Banana Cabana)
Blade & Bull (North Charleston)
Coney Island Hot Weiners (North Charleston)
Dashi (North Charleston -- former El Chapin)
Fuji Sushi (Mt. Pleasant)
Jackrabbit Filly (North Charleston – former Deja Vu II)
King Claw Juicy Seafood & Bar (West Ashley – former Yokoso)
Louisiana Cajun Express (North Charleston — former Hwy 55 Burgers)
Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint (James Island – former Sermet’s)
Red Crab (North Charleston -- former Cove)
San Miguel Mexican Bar & Grill (Mt. Pleasant)
Spanglish Cocina + Bar (West Ashley -- former Bluerose)
The Salty Dog Cafe (Seabrook)
...AND 50+ more openings coming in the next 4-12 months...
NATIONAL RESTAURANT TRENDS
PHILADELPHIA BANS CASHLESS RESTAURANTS
While select restaurants around the country are going cashless and accepting only cards for service, the city of Philadelphia PA is not on board with that policy. Lawmakers in Philly recently voted to force restaurants to accept cash if a customer chooses to pay that way. It appears that other cities are considering similar rules to allow consumers to use cash if so desired. Read more about it in Restaurant Business magazine online...