From James Beard semifinalist lists to a shuttered pitmaster and a Sondheim review, here's everything Charleston press covered in the past month.
A busy stretch in the local press: Vern's and Sorelle landed James Beard semifinalist nods, Rodney Scott's BBQ shuttered its King Street doors without a reopening date, and Little Stranger booked a homecoming at the Windjammer. The City Paper also mapped the Lowcountry's Greek food moment and traced Charleston's long relationship with tea — both worth reading before you book a table or make the drive to Wadmalaw.
Two reasons to care this week: Vern's picked up a James Beard semifinalist nod for Outstanding Wine Program — one of three Charleston rooms on the 2026 list — and the City Paper confirmed the restaurant will have a presence in Spoleto's food village, marking, per Eater Charleston, "its biggest stage yet." Waitlists spiked the morning the Beard list dropped; act accordingly.
Sorelle opened a second location inside the former Macintosh space on upper King — same pasta menu, heavier amaro program — and simultaneously earned a James Beard semifinalist nod for Best New Restaurant, per Eater Charleston. The Indigo Road group also threw a sold-out late-night pasta party during Spoleto's pre-party week, which the City Paper called part of an emerging "soft-opening gauntlet" stretching the festival's footprint two weeks earlier than usual.
The news is not good: the City Paper reported that Rodney Scott's flagship King Street location closed abruptly "until further notice," with no timeline given. The closure, which the paper said "blindsided regulars and rattled Charleston's barbecue community," is worth knowing before you make the trip downtown. Monitor Scott's social channels for any reopening announcement.
Charleston-bred Little Stranger — "quietly one of the biggest acts in the Southeast right now," per the City Paper — booked a two-night homecoming at the Windjammer on Isle of Palms. The storied beach venue, where Hootie & the Blowfish made their name, is the right room for the occasion. Tickets at this scale move fast.
A City Paper feature this month mapped the Greek culinary presence across the Lowcountry — olive oil, lamb, fresh seafood — and placed Taverna Philosophia at the center of the conversation. If Greek food hasn't been in your rotation, the piece makes the case; this is where to start.
The City Paper ran a historically grounded piece on tea's role in Charleston culture and traced it directly to Wadmalaw Island, describing the Tea Garden as the anchor of that history and "the only working tea plantation in North America." The briefing's verdict: worth the drive, and rarely as crowded as anything on the peninsula.
The City Paper confirmed that High Water Festival — the event that, as the paper put it, "put North Charleston on the national music map" — will return to Riverfront Park in spring 2027 after sitting out 2026. Shovels & Rope are confirmed; lineup hints point toward a North Charleston-leaning bill.
The City Paper reviewed the Footlight Players' production of Sondheim's Company — the 1970 Broadway landmark about marriage and the fear of it — calling it "one of the more ambitious local-theater efforts of the season." Remaining dates are limited; check the Queen Street Playhouse box office.
