Charleston Restaurant Report July 2018
ON THE MENU
1. Green Scene – SUNOCO + CLEMSON TEAM UP ON PACKAGING TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE
2. Local Restaurant News – STRAWLESS SUMMER RETURNS
3. Restaurant Openings, Closings and Coming Soon Lists!
4. National Restaurant Trends – SHOULD YOUR RESTAURANT ADOPT A NO-CASH POLICY?
GREEN SCENE
SUNOCO + CLEMSON TEAM UP ON PACKAGING TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE
Everyone knows that fresh food eventually spoils. In our state, Sunoco and Clemson are teaming up to develop new ways to handle and package food from farm to table. Food waste is a big problem in this country, especially as consumers continue to shift buying habits away from shelf-stable foods back toward fresh produce, meats, and baked goods. So it’s a big deal if we can find new methods and packaging that will help a piece of fresh produce or meat stay fresh for a couple more days before it starts to go bad. Read more here…..
LOCAL RESTAURANT NEWS
STRAWLESS SUMMER RETURNS
It’s hard to swallow the statistics about drink straw usage in Charleston. According to a Charleston City Paper article about the Strawless Summer campaign, 630,000 straws are used everyday in the Charleston area! Add up the national statistics, and our nation uses a whopping 175 billion drink straws a year! And where do they end up when they are discarded? Blowing in the wind…. Literally. Last summer, 115 Charleston restaurants took the pledge to not serve single-use straws and this summer, the Surfrider Foundation hopes twice as many establishments will participate. Read the article and sign the pledge….
RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
The following Openings + Closings lists reflect 2nd Quarter 2018 market activity (April - June 2018):
OPENINGS --
BKeDSHoP (Downtown)
Balao (Downtown)
Broom Wagon Coffee (West Ashley)
Charleston Sports Pub (James Island – former White Duck Taco Shop)
Chick-fil-a (Mt. Pleasant)
Chubby Fish (Downtown)
Clean Juice (Downtown – former Starbucks)
Come Back Shack (N. Charleston)
E&O Taco (Edisto Beach)
Eastside Bagels (Downtown)
Eggs Up Grill (Knightsville)
El Jefe Texican Cantina (Downtown – former Kingdom)
Grand Rooster Kitchen (N. Charleston – former The Codfather)
JuJu (Mt. Pleasant – former Bambu)
King Street Dispensary (Downtown – former Midtown Bar & Grill)
La Fogata (Johns Island – former Nacha Mama’s Taqueria)
Mozzo Deli (Downtown – former Nana’s Donuts)
Nimbo Pizza (Downtown)
Poke-San (Downtown – former Parlor Deluxe)
Revival (Downtown – former The Drawing Room)
Rigo’s Mexican Grill & Sports Bar (North Charleston)
Smoothie King (West Ashley)
Southern Twist Café (North Charleston)
Sunrise Bistro (Mt. Pleasant – former Charleston Café)
Swig & Swine (Mt. Pleasant)
Tattooed Moose (West Ashley – former King Street Grille)
The Establishment (Downtown)
Tradesman Brewing Co. (Downtown)
Uncork (Downtown)
Uptown Social (Downtown – former Huger’s)
Woodward Tavern (Mt. Pleasant – former Caulder’s Pub)
Zaxby’s (Knightsville)
CLOSINGS --
Applebee’s x 2 (North Charleston)
Bambu (Mt. Pleasant)
Black Bean Co. (Downtown)
Charleston Café (Mt. Pleasant)
Clean Eatz (West Ashley)
Coast (Downtown -- roof collapse)
Eclectic Café & Vinyl (Downtown)
Green Goat (West Ashley)
Hardee’s (N. Charleston)
Kingdom (Downtown)
Midici (Mt. Pleasant)
Midtown Bar & Grill (Downtown)
Pizza King (Downtown)
Sprout (Mt. Pleasant)
Swig & Swine (Summerville –- fire)
COMING SOON (expected to open in the 3rd quarter '18) --
Azul Mexicano (North Charleston)
Cantina 76 (Mt. Pleasant – former Americano)
Clean Juice (West Ashley)
Hokkaido (Downtown)
Jimmy Johns (Downtown)
Josephine Wine Bar (Downtown – former Ernie’s)
Kairos (West Ashley – former Your Pie)
Knead (West Ashley – former Clean Eatz)
Maple Street Biscuit Co. (James Island)
MOMO Kitchen & Market (Goose Creek)
Pizza Prospero (Mt. Pleasant – former Slice)
Playa Bowls (Downtown – former Black Bean Co.)
Poke Tea House (Mt. Pleasant – former Sprout)
Roadside Seafood (Johns Island – former Chez Fish)
Semilla (Downtown – former Lee Lee’s Hot Kitchen)
Slice Co. (West Ashley)
Sweetwater Café (Summerville -- former Continental Corner)
Wiki Wiki Sandbar (Folly Beach)
NATIONAL RESTAURANT TRENDS
SHOULD YOUR RESTAURANT ADOPT A NO-CASH POLICY?
Some restaurant operators have implemented a no-cash policy in order to speed up service lines, cut overhead expenses, free up managers’ time, create a safer working environment and ultimately a better overall customer experience. The tradeoffs are that those operators potentially alienate 1) customers who prefer to use cash and 2) the millions of families that don’t have bank accounts for a card transaction. No cash on hand means less banking fees, no armored car fees, no bank trips for deposits + change; more manager time spent with staff + customers, and less opportunities for theft + armed robbery. The benefits of going cash-less seem to outweigh the potential lost sales, according to the folks in this Post & Courier article.