From Peninsula Grill's farewell dinner to babas on meeting's King Street takeover, Charleston's press has been busy — here's what actually matters.
The past month delivered a concentrated run of genuine news on the Charleston dining and culture front. Peninsula Grill is closing after nearly three decades inside the Planters Inn. Rodney Scott's BBQ has confirmed it won't reopen at 1011 King Street — and babas on meeting has signed the lease. Two Blokes Brewing opened a downtown taproom on Cannon Street. Big John's Tavern is tangled in lawsuits. These are the places worth understanding before the next round of changes lands.
The Post & Courier confirmed Peninsula Grill is closing as the Planters Inn begins renovations — ending a nearly 30-year run that made it one of the last white-tablecloth holdouts on the peninsula. Chef John Ondo, a Charleston native who once worked the line here earlier in his career before returning as executive chef, has been central to its identity; the window to eat his food in this room is closing.
The Post & Courier confirmed that babas on meeting has signed the lease at 1011 King Street — the address Rodney Scott's BBQ vacated — as co-founder Nick Pihakis separately filed for bankruptcy listing $44 million in debts. The Italian-leaning café's expansion into one of King Street's more prominent restaurant footprints is among the most consequential block-level changes on upper King this year.
Two Blokes opened its Cannon Street taproom on August 11, with both Charleston City Paper and the Post & Courier covering the launch — giving the downtown peninsula a production brewery within walking distance of Cannonborough-Elliotborough for the first time. The lines haven't formed yet.
The Post & Courier reported that the current ownership group faces multiple lawsuits alleging more than $600,000 in unpaid debts to investors, vendors, and the owner of a brewery they acquired. Big John's has been a legitimate institution since its 2021 reopening by three Citadel grads — regulars should track whether operations are affected.
The IAAM confirmed it will remain open through a six-month staff furlough starting in July, triggered by a significant financial shortfall — a crisis the Charleston City Paper documented in detail. The museum, sited on Gadsden's Wharf where an estimated 40–47% of all enslaved Africans entered the United States, needs foot traffic now more than at any point since its 2023 opening.
Charleston City Paper reviewed PURE Theatre's world-premiere production and called it "a searing sendup of Southern sanctimony" — sharp-toothed work that exposes the hypocrisy behind performative piety and lands its punches. World premieres at PURE's intimate downtown house don't repeat; check the run dates.
Charleston City Paper tracked down the story behind the martini at Saint Urban's: partner and cheesemonger Warren Johnson spent nearly two years hunting a single specific olive for the wine bar's martini program. It's the most considered martini in Mount Pleasant — order it and let Warren explain the olive.
The Post & Courier reported that Boone Hall is transitioning to nonprofit stewardship — a meaningful structural change for a property that has operated as a private attraction for decades. Nonprofit governance often signals a shift in how a site interprets its history; the foundation's shape and programming priorities are worth tracking in the months ahead.
The Patriots Point resort sold for $182.5 million to two buyers, the Post & Courier confirmed — closing a chapter on a property a Cincinnati-based insurance company had been trying to unload since March 2025. New ownership at a waterfront asset this prominent will shape what the harbor experience looks like from the Mount Pleasant side for years.