From a $5M investor dispute on Market Street to Lalah Hathaway at the Music Hall, here's everything Charleston press covered this month that's worth knowing before you walk out the door.
September delivered a concentrated dose of Charleston news: Peninsula Grill announced its closure after nearly three decades inside the Planters Inn; babas on meeting claimed the King Street address Rodney Scott's BBQ left behind; Two Blokes Brewing opened a Cannon Street taproom on the downtown peninsula; and Church and Union found itself in a $5M investor dispute. MOJA Arts Festival closed out its run at Marion Square while Lalah Hathaway took the stage at the Music Hall.
The Post & Courier confirmed what many feared: Peninsula Grill is closing as the Planters Inn embarks on renovations, ending a nearly 30-year run as the peninsula's most reliably elegant dining room. Chef John Ondo — a Charleston native who once worked the line here and recently returned as executive chef — completes a full-circle arc just as the door is closing for good.
The Italian-leaning café has signed a lease for 1011 King Street, the address Rodney Scott's BBQ vacated as co-founder Nick Pihakis filed for bankruptcy listing $44 million in debts — a transaction the Post & Courier described as closing "a chapter on one of Charleston's most prominent barbecue addresses." Watch for babas to bring its daytime café format to one of upper King's more prominent restaurant footprints.
The Mount Pleasant brewery opened its Cannon Street taproom on August 11, giving the downtown peninsula a production brewery within walking distance of the Cannonborough-Elliotborough core — Charleston City Paper ran a full feature, confirming the opening from operators "already known locally." Lines haven't formed yet; a weeknight walk-in is still a reasonable proposition.
The Post & Courier reported that the restaurateur behind Church and Union near the City Market is embroiled in a legal and financial dispute with investors alleging $5 million has been misappropriated — "putting one of downtown Charleston's higher-profile dining rooms under a cloud of uncertainty." Worth knowing before you book a table or carry a gift card.
Grammy-winning vocalist Lalah Hathaway — daughter of Donny Hathaway — plays the Music Hall this Thursday, October 2; Charleston City Paper called her gift "the kind of voice that makes a poker face impossible to hold." The fall calendar at 37 John Street has been running strong, and this is the week's most time-sensitive ticket.
Historic Charleston Foundation's zoning challenge forced a developer to scrap plans for an upper King Street hotel and return to the design phase — a settlement the Post & Courier called a meaningful preservation win on the peninsula's most-watched corridor. The news arrived alongside HCF CEO Winslow Hastie's retirement announcement after nine years, making it a consequential month for the organization on two fronts.
The owners of the revived East Bay Street institution are facing multiple lawsuits from investors and vendors alleging more than $600,000 in unpaid debts, per the Post & Courier — a legal picture murky enough that regulars should track whether operations are affected. The same week brought news of a food truck expansion to James Island, a parallel arc that reads as optimistic against the litigation backdrop.
PURE Theatre's world-premiere production drew a Charleston City Paper review that called it "a searing sendup of Southern sanctimony" — the kind of sharp-toothed regional theater that rarely repeats itself once the run closes. The company also announced its full 24th season, which the City Paper described as leaning into contemporary writing over repertory.