From the IAAM's financial crisis to Magnolias' kitchen fire and Husk's People magazine crown, Charleston's press cycle has been anything but quiet.
June delivered a full range of civic news across the peninsula and beyond: the International African American Museum is staying open despite serious money trouble, Magnolias had a kitchen scare on the eve of the holiday weekend, Rodney Scott's King Street flagship went dark with no reopening date, and the Charleston Museum landed a once-in-a-generation loan just in time for Carolina Day 250. Here's what the Briefing and the local press flagged as worth knowing.
The most consequential news on this list: the IAAM will furlough staff and leadership for six months starting in July but has confirmed it will remain open. As the Briefing put it plainly — "go, spend money in the gift shop, book group tours. The institution needs the community's foot traffic now more than ever."
The Post & Courier's Briefing flagged this as "a once-in-a-generation loan worth seeing now": the logbook of the HMS Bristol — badly damaged in the June 28, 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island — is on display for Carolina Day 250, alongside a new summer program of free kids' tours that launched mid-June.
An original painting of the 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island has been reinstalled at 51 Meeting Street, timed to the country's semiquincentennial buildup. The Post & Courier Briefing called it "one of the more resonant objects on display in the city right now" — see it in context before it travels again.
Charleston firefighters responded to a fire near the Magnolias kitchen on East Bay Street on June 26, briefly closing surrounding streets the night before the holiday weekend rush. The Post & Courier Briefing advised: "Check ahead before making plans — confirm Magnolias is back to full service before heading downtown this week."
The flagship King Street location closed abruptly in early May with no reopening timeline. The Briefing reported the closure "blindsided regulars and rattled Charleston's barbecue community." If you had a visit planned, check Scott's social channels before making the drive.
People magazine named Husk to its "Best of America" list in late June — the same week the Post & Courier ran a piece asking whether the restaurant is still worth the hype for visitors. The Ravenel House portico was also restored this summer, making the building look better than it has in years.
The City Paper profiled Michelin-starred chef Orlando Pagán this month, examining how his Puerto Rican heritage shapes the Spring Street tasting menu — including through pop-up formats that push further into his culinary roots. The Briefing's read: "the tasting menu reads differently when you understand what Pagán is actually cooking toward."
The popular Mount Pleasant taproom announced plans to open a second location in a historic building near MUSC on Cannon Street — the Post & Courier Briefing called it "a genuine neighborhood brewery on the upper peninsula worth tracking." No opening date is set; watch for a soft-open announcement.
The French brasserie on King Street turned 25 this year — a run that, as the Briefing noted, "outlasted dozens of trendier successors and predates the wave of attention that transformed the city's dining scene." The anniversary is a legitimate occasion to return, or to go for the first time without feeling like a tourist.