From Spoleto's sold-out operas to Rodney Scott's abrupt closure, the past month's Charleston press had real news — here's what actually matters.
Spoleto Festival USA swallowed the city's arts calendar whole this week, while Sorelle quietly opened a second location and 39 Rue de Jean hit a milestone that most Charleston restaurants don't survive long enough to see. Elsewhere, the news was less celebratory: Rodney Scott's BBQ shuttered with no reopening date, and Folly Beach Pier's renovation slipped another year. Here's what the press has been tracking.
The festival's most press-saturated week in recent memory: Scottish Ballet staged the North American premiere of 'Mary, Queen of Scots,' Denis O'Hare debuted two new works including a dystopian thriller called 'The Duchy,' and the Martha Graham Dance Company marked its centennial on the peninsula's stages. Per the City Paper, the operatic programming sold out opening weekend — check the box office for returns before the run closes.
The hardest news of the month: the City Paper reported that Scott's flagship King Street location closed abruptly 'until further notice,' with no reopening timeline announced. Hold any visit until the pitmaster's social channels say otherwise.
The French brasserie that opened on King Street in 2001 — before Charleston had arrived on the national dining map — turned 25 this week, earning a proper anniversary feature in the City Paper. Twenty-five years is a run that outlasted dozens of trendier successors; the moules frites and Saturday cassoulet that anchored the original menu are still on it.
The Indigo Road group opened a second Sorelle inside the old Macintosh space on upper King — same pasta menu, heavier amaro program — and followed it with a sold-out late-night pasta party during Spoleto's pre-party weekend, per a City Paper briefing. A James Beard semifinalist nod for Best New Restaurant preceded both.
The Post & Courier reviewed the latest iteration of chef Daniel Humm's restaurant inside the hotel, noting a significant format shift: the tasting menu is gone, replaced by à la carte ordering and a menu that now leans on Lowcountry sourcing. Worth reconsidering if the commitment to a full tasting experience was the sticking point.
Vern's landed a James Beard semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Wine Program — one of three Charleston nods on the 2026 list, the strongest showing for the city since 2019, per Eater Charleston. The restaurant also confirmed a spot in the Spoleto food village, its highest-profile stage yet.
Chef Shuai Wang's Chinese-Southern smoke shop on Carver Avenue was featured in 'City Eats: Charleston,' the new aspireTV series hosted by G. Garvin that began airing in June, per the Post & Courier. National television attention tends to move reservation availability quickly — the cha shao ribs and five-spice duck are the orders.
Charleston-bred Little Stranger booked two homecoming nights at the Windjammer, per the City Paper — the Isle of Palms venue where the band built much of its following and where Hootie & the Blowfish did the same decades earlier. Local shows at this scale fill fast.
Charleston County Parks confirmed to the Post & Courier that the rebuilt pier won't reopen until spring 2027, citing concrete supply delays. The temporary boardwalk remains open through summer; the Mt. Pleasant Pier is currently the longest accessible public pier in the metro.