Charleston Restaurant Report July 2012
July 2012 - Issue #13
Charleston Restaurant Report
On The Menu
1. Green Scene – Charleston's Green Plan Marks Two Years of Progress
2. Local Restaurant News – New Restaurants Flooding the Pipeline
3. Restaurants -- Opening, Closing and Coming Soon!
4. National Restaurant Trends– Communal Tables: Will They Work For Me?
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Green Scene– Charleston's Green Plan Marks Two Years of Progress
The City of Charleston’s Green Plan has been in action for over two years now and much progress has been made in its mission to promote methods for future city sustainability. The Charleston Green Committee, made up of local business and government leaders who oversee the Green Plan, is studying local, national, and international best practices in the area of sustainability planning to find methods that could make a significant impact here at home.
The CGC website offers plenty of helpful tips and information that could benefit local restaurant businesses. They also have a weekly email report called the Green Connection which provides updates on green business training events, legislative action, green plan updates, energy-saving ideas and more.
Check it out --
http://www.charlestongreencommittee.com
http://www.charlestongreencommittee.com/greenconnection.html
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Local Restaurant News– New Restaurants Flooding the Pipeline
New restaurants continue to pop up all over the Charleston area at a steady clip. The number of new restaurant openings is outpacing restaurant closings by a solid 2-1 margin. This ratio has slowed a bit from the torrid 3-1 open/close ratio of the last couple of years, but there is little doubt that new operator optimism remains a strong force in the local restaurant marketplace. Based on the “coming soon” list below, there will be a steady stream of new restaurant openings in the second half of 2012. Competition is tough for operators, but on the flip side, the food+bev choices are endless for the dining public.
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Restaurants -- Openings/Closings/Coming Soon!
The following list reflects market activity since April, 2012.
Openings --
A W Dawgs (Downtown)
Back Home Bar & Grill (West Ashley)
Black Bean Co. (Mount Pleasant)
Castaways Grille (James Island – former King Street Grille)
Cesca Ristorante & Trattoria (Downtown – former Buccaneer)
Cha Cha’s Tequila Bar (James Island – former Buffalo South)
Chipotle Mexican Grill (North Charleston)
Co (Downtown – former Teavana)
Cook-Out (West Ashley – former Checkers)
Harbor Breeze (Mount Pleasant – former Point Grill)
Izakaya Hiro (Downtown – former Sushi Hiro)
Jamaican Me Hungry (Downtown)
Jimmy John’s (Mount Pleasant)
J. Paul’z (Mount Pleasant)
La Fontana (Mount Pleasant – former Cuoco Pazzo)
LB's Lowcountry Bistro (Downtown -- former Garibaldi's)
Momma Brown’s (Mount Pleasant – former Skarney’s)
Mynt (Downtown)
Pop’s Smokin BBQ (Moncks Corner)
Proof (Downtown – former Pita King)
Santi’s (Mount Pleasant – former Momma Brown’s BBQ)
Sermet’s Downtown (Downtown – re-opened)
Sonic (Goose Creek)
TJ’s Beef & Brew (Daniel Island – former Dublin Down)
Closings --
A-1 China Super Buffet (West Ashley)
Alchemy Coffee (West Ashley)
Arby’s (Downtown)
Cuoco Pazzo (Mount Pleasant)
Dublin Down (Daniel Island)
Enoteca (Downtown)
Et Cetera (Daniel Island)
King Street Grille (James Island)
Skarney’s (Mount Pleasant)
Skibo’s (James Island)
Square Onion Too (Mount Pleasant)
Sushi Hiro (Downtown)
Coming Soon --
Baroni's Pizza (Mount Pleasant -- former Do Re Mi)
Bon Bahn Mi (Downtown – former Remedy Market)
Burton’s Grill (Mount Pleasant – former On The Border)
Burwell’s (Downtown – former Gilligan’s)
Chipotle Mexican Grill (Mount Pleasant)
Collective Coffee (Mount Pleasant)
Cracker Barrel (Mount Pleasant)
Craftsmen Kitchen & Tap House (Downtown – former Johnson’s)
Crust (James Island – former Savory Sushi)
Delish Bakery & Bistro (Downtown)
Eggs Up Grill (Mount Pleasant)
Elliotborough Mini Bar (Downtown – former Enoteca)
Fratello’s (North Charleston – former Aunt Bea’s)
Fresh Berry (Mount Pleasant)
Gennaro’s (West Ashley)
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (Mount Pleasant – former Benito’s Brick Oven)
Guadeloupe Grill (Mount Pleasant)
Jimmy John’s (North Charleston)
Pie’s Pizza (Ravenel)
Republic Garden & Lounge (Downtown – former Chai’s)
Rutledge Grill (Downtown)
Stars Grill (Downtown)
The Alley (Downtown)
The Ordinary (Downtown)
The Shelter (Mount Pleasant)
Xiao Bao Biscuit (Downtown)
Yobe Yogurt (Summerville)
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National Restaurant Trends – Communal Tables: Will They Work For Me?
Communal or community dining tables, seating 8-16 people, are becoming more common in restaurants nationwide. Charleston has its share of community tables too. Chain restaurants are adopting them as a way to encourage guest interaction, especially among frequent diners, and promote more frequent visits. The downside to the trend is that they eat up valuable space, and larger dining groups tend to be loud and sit on tables longer, which can sometimes upset the atmosphere of the space and also hinder table-turns in higher-volume restaurants.
Click the link below for items to consider when planning your community dining table:
http://nrn.com/article/how-plan-communal-tables-restaurants?page=0,1&ad=operations-news