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Things To DoDowntownEditor's Pick
USS Yorktown Ghost Tour
Why we picked it
“Nighttime ghost tour aboard the decommissioned WWII carrier docked across the harbor in Mount Pleasant.”
4.9Beloved1,593 ratings
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“Nighttime ghost tour aboard the decommissioned WWII carrier docked across the harbor in Mount Pleasant.”
4.9Beloved1,593 ratings
Threaded through this week's Monday Briefing and Social Pulse — the places Charleston is actually moving toward.
Posh New American dining destination and cocktail bar in a former church with dramatic decor.
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Cold dozens, hot half-shells, and the bars that earn the line — the canonical Charleston oyster guide.
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Poogan's Smokehouse replaces its Southern Kitchen sibling in Summerville, Church and Union faces a $5M investor dispute, and a new sushi counter opens on Cannon Street.
A busy week for restaurant news: Poogan's Southern Kitchen in Nexton Square will temporarily close at the end of September and reemerge as Poogan's Smokehouse, while Church and Union Charleston found itself at the center of a escalating legal fight after investors alleged $5 million in misappropriated funds. On a quieter civic note, the Emanuel Nine Memorial announced a November 14 opening date — a long-awaited milestone for a city still reckoning with 2015.
For a new table, head to Kyn Sushi on Cannon Street, now open daily in a brick building that once held an 1866 YMCA — hand rolls, sashimi, and crudos in a room with real bones. If you're in Summerville and were a regular at Poogan's Southern Kitchen, that chapter closes at month's end; the barbecue pivot should be worth watching when it reopens. And if you have any intelligence on Church and Union, keep your eyes on the Post & Courier.
Poogan's Southern Kitchen in Summerville's Nexton Square will shut its doors at the end of September for renovations and a full menu overhaul, emerging as Poogan's Smokehouse. The rebrand swaps the Southern fare format for a barbecue-focused concept.
Why it matters · If you're a Nexton regular, get your last Southern Kitchen visit in before month's end — the Smokehouse reopening is worth tracking.
The restaurateur operating Church and Union near the City Market is facing an escalating legal and financial feud with investors who allege $5 million has been misappropriated. The dispute puts one of downtown Charleston's higher-profile dining rooms under a cloud of uncertainty.
Why it matters · Worth watching if you have a reservation or a gift card — and worth reading the full Post & Courier piece if you follow Charleston's restaurant business closely.
One of Charleston's newest restaurants is now serving hand rolls, sashimi, and crudos every day on Cannon Street, inside a brick building that once housed a YMCA established in 1866. The Post & Courier flagged the space's bones as worth noting on their own.
Why it matters · A sushi counter open daily on the downtown peninsula is a genuine addition — the 1866 building is reason enough to go see the room.
The memorial honoring the nine worshippers killed at Emanuel AME Church in 2015 will open to the public on November 14 in Charleston. The announcement marks a concrete timeline for a project the city has anticipated for years.
Why it matters · Mark November 14 on your calendar — this is a significant moment for Charleston's public memory and for the families who have waited more than a decade.
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra launched its new season this week with a program balancing orchestral classics against less familiar collaborations, signaling an intent to push beyond the standard repertoire. City Paper caught the season opener and found the ambition mostly warranted.
Why it matters · The symphony's subscriber base is only part of the audience — check the schedule if you haven't bought in before and the new collaborations give you a reason to.
Former New York Times reporter Kevin Sack's book on the history of Mother Emanuel AME Church — "Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church" — took home a prominent peace nonfiction award this week. The book traces the church's story from its founding through the 2015 massacre.
Why it matters · If you haven't read it yet, an award is a reasonable prompt. It belongs on the shelf of anyone serious about Charleston's past.
Chef Mark Bolchoz, who has been building a portfolio under his Semper Elevatum Hospitality umbrella, announced plans to open Reenie's — described as an Old World tavern — in Hanahan. No opening date was specified, but the concept adds to a growing list of interesting projects outside the peninsula.
Why it matters · Bolchoz has earned attention with his prior work — Reenie's is worth putting on your radar before the Hanahan dining scene gets ahead of you.
Downtown's dessert bars and Vivian Howard's biscuit counter compete for the weekend crowd, while West Ashley's wing-and-margarita circuit holds its own and Isle of Palms kitchens remind everyone summer resort season is fully underway.
The 12-layer Ultimate Coconut Cake at Benne's by Peninsula Grill has become a destination order — people are finishing dinner elsewhere and walking over specifically for a slice, citing Oprah's endorsement unprompted. The Coconut Cake Martini is now treated as a near-mandatory pairing, and the Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake is pulling second orders from anyone not on the coconut train. Weekend bar waits are accepted as part of the deal. Meanwhile, Bakehouse Charleston is running a parallel dessert conversation downtown around its salted caramel brownie and a pumpkin s'mores bar with a Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively co-sign that customers bring up without being asked.
The country ham, apple preserves, and white cheddar biscuit at Handy and Hot is the specific order people name when they tell others to go, but the potlicker stew with soft-boiled egg and tomato relish is what's earning the most surprised praise from anyone who wanders past the pastry case. The grab-and-go format gets consistent love; the price point gets flagged alongside it. Howard's name is what drives the first visit — the hand pies are what drive the second.
Stones Throw Tavern's $0.50 Monday wing night — backed by a homemade blue cheese dressing that gets described as 'garlicky and divine' — has locked in a West Ashley regular crowd that treats it as a standing weekly appointment. The BLT and loaded fries are the secondary orders; the heavy pours are the reason people stay. Across the neighborhood, Agaves Cantina West Ashley is running its own loyalty loop: one regular reports eating there eight out of ten times they go out, with the Quesadilla Jaliscos and original-mix margarita as the standing order. Service slows during peak hours — both spots are worth timing.
Coastal Crust at Wild Dunes is getting called out by name for its fig and prosciutto pizza — finished with bleu cheese and hot honey — and the meatball appetizer is earning 'best I've ever had' on its own. The insider tip circulating: order your pie well done to get the char the wood-fired oven is built for. Over at Hudson's Market, the Red Apron chef-curated dinner option keeps surprising people who assumed it was strictly a grab-and-go, while the breakfast sandwich and quiche crowd has already established its morning routine. Resort pricing is accepted as a given at both spots.
