Charleston Restaurant Report OCTOBER 2024

ON THE MENU

1. Local Restaurant Scene -- WHAT'S IN YOUR GOODIE BAG? 
2. National Restaurant Scene – FEELING NICKEL & DIMED BY FEES + SURCHARGES
3. Restaurant Openings, Closings + Coming Soon!

4. Food For Thought -- RESTAURANTS + TECHNOLOGY = GOOD MATCH

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LOCAL RESTAURANT SCENE

WHAT'S IN YOUR GOODIE BAG?
       Now you can get your special Goodie Bag from area restaurants and food shops around Charleston. The Goodie Bag app helps restaurant operators sell surplus or leftover goods by offering special deals to eager customers looking for a big discount. Good for restaurants + good for customers, right? Check out the details in this Charleston City Paper article....

NATIONAL RESTAURANT SCENE

FEELING NICKEL & DIMED BY FEES + SURCHARGES
      No one likes to see extra fees tacked on to a dinner tab, especially when you aren't made aware of the fees until you see them at the bottom of the bill. Call the fees what you will -- convenience fee, employee health care surcharge, credit card processing fee, equitable wage fee.... Seems like we are all getting nickel and dimed...Axe the fees and spread the costs into the menu pricing and let the consumer decide. The FTC is standing up for consumers against so-called junk fees while the National Restaurant Association wants to allow restaurant operators to keep using them. Read all about it on CNBC... 

RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!

Openings + Closings list reflects 3rd Quarter 2024 market activity (July - September):
OPENINGS --
Bar Copa (Johns Island) 
Bar Polari (North Charleston) 
Barnyard Chicken (North Charleston — former FOOD) 
Cava (West Ashley) 
Charles Towne Fermentory (James Island) 
Cuidad Bonita (North Charleston) 
Famulari’s Pizzeria (Summerville)  
Full of It Restaurant & Lounge (Moncks Corner — former A&M Brown’s BBQ) 
Hachiya Ramen (Mount Pleasant — former Maple Street Biscuit Company) 
Kiki’s Chicken & Waffles (North Charleston — former The Oriental Cuisine) 
Linette’s (Johns Island) 
Loleo Juice Bar (Mount Pleasant) 
Palomar Fish Tacos (North Charleston) 
Ray’s Pizza (James Island — former PizzaVola) 
Smash City Burgers (Downtown) 
Southern Roots Smokehouse (North Charleston — relocated to former Ships Wheel Cider) 
The Archer (Downtown — former Gale) 
The Select (Downtown) 
Ti-Ney Bangkok (James Island — former Zeppelin Pizza Co.) 

CLOSINGS -- 
A Salt N Battered (West Ashley) 
Chasing Sage (Downtown)
Colectivo (Johns Island) 
Cru Cafe (Downtown) 
Fatty’s Beer Works (Downtown) 
Mex 1 Coastal Cantina (Mount Pleasant) 
PizzaVola Express (James Island) 
Sommba (Mount Pleasant) 
TGI Fridays (Mount Pleasant) 
The Fillin’ Station Diner (Hollywood) 
Tradesman Brewing taproom (Downtown)  
Wind & Waves Brewing (North Charleston) 

COMING SOON --

     The number of publicly-announced restaurant projects on the Coming Soon list -- expected to open in the next 12 months -- is still over 60 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

RESTAURANTS + TECHNOLOGY = GOOD MATCH
       The restaurant business has been slow historically to adopt and integrate tech into operations. In recent years though, tech applications have really made inroads to help streamline operations and push sales: just think of Toast, Resy, Blackbird, ShiftNow, GigPro, Too Good To Go, DoorDash, Goodie Bag, Restaurant365 and many others... A recent Post & Courier article asks whether all the new tech is helping or hurting the food & bev business. Read all about it in the P&C and discuss amongst yourselves...