From a 20-year BBQ anniversary to a financial crisis at the IAAM, here's every story in the Charleston press worth knowing this week.
This week's briefing runs from West Ashley to Union Pier: Home Team BBQ turns 20, Boone Hall Plantation shifts to nonprofit stewardship, The Charleston Place inches toward the finish line on a $150 million renovation, and the IAAM remains open despite looming staff furloughs. Palmira's Hector Garate is heading to television; Mozzo Deli is opening a fourth location; and PURE Theatre just announced its 24th season. Read before you make plans.
The IAAM celebrated Juneteenth on the Yard in June and confirmed it will stay open through a six-month staff furlough beginning in July — the Charleston City Paper called it "one of its most serious operational challenges since launch." The institution needs foot traffic now; book a ticket, bring a group, spend money in the gift shop.
Charleston City Paper marked the occasion this week: Home Team BBQ turns 20, now operating across four Lowcountry locations from Sullivan's Island to Mount Pleasant — a genuine run in a restaurant city that has turned over constantly around it.
The Post & Courier reported this week that Boone Hall Plantation is transitioning to foundation-led nonprofit stewardship — a significant ownership change intended, the paper says, to "preserve the site's long-term future and reshape how it engages with its full history." Watch for shifts in programming and public access in the months ahead.
Charleston City Paper reported this month that pitmaster Hector Garate is taking Palmira to television — less than two and a half years after opening his West Ashley restaurant, a timeline that suggests the lines will only get longer after airtime.
The Post & Courier reported this month that The Charleston Place has completed another phase of its $150 million renovation, pushing the Meeting Street landmark further into resort territory; chef Daniel Humm's restaurant inside has also dropped the tasting menu in favor of an à la carte format anchored in Lowcountry sourcing.
The Post & Courier this month revealed the site of Mozzo Deli's fourth Lowcountry location — a methodical expansion for a homemade-sandwich institution that's been feeding Charleston since 2009 and shows no signs of slowing.
PURE Theatre announced its 24th season this week — what Charleston City Paper describes as including "a churchified mockumentary, a female-forward drama, and an Austin-baked comedy." One of Charleston's most consistent venues for new work; get tickets before the intimate house fills.
Both the Post & Courier and Charleston City Paper covered the departure of the final cruise ship from Union Pier Terminal — the Norwegian Jewel sailed out last month as the last ship on SC Ports' calendar, closing the passenger era at a downtown berth that will now need a new identity.
The Post & Courier covered the opening of Harlow and Pearl this week — a colorful, social-media-forward coffee shop with a pre-existing following that has now entered Charleston's competitive café market; the banana pudding latte and birthday cake latte are the early orders to benchmark.