A Familiar Favorite Is Headed Across the Bridge

One of downtown Charleston’s most recognizable cafés is officially packing its bags — but not going far.

Caviar & Bananas, the popular quick-service café known for its grab-and-go fare, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and coffee lineup that fuels half the peninsula, is opening a new location on James Island.

The café will take over the former Maple Street Biscuit Co. space at 1739 Maybank Highway, inside the Harris Teeter–anchored James Island Center. A “coming soon” sign is already up. The expected opening: May.

According to owner and CEO Joe Caradonna, this marks the brand’s first location outside downtown — and its third overall.

Caradonna says the James Island café will closely mirror the downtown locations, with a heavy emphasis on grab-and-go options and catering — a major piece of the business.

But this outpost will also lean into island life.

“I think there's going to be a good amount of later afternoon post-work, post-school and post-soccer practice business,” Caradonna said, as reported by Post & Courier.

That means possible evening hours and a menu designed for busy families who want something fast — but still good.

Expansion, Caradonna said, has been on the table for years. The challenge? Costly buildouts and spaces that didn’t quite work.

That changed when the Maybank Highway spot became available.

“The space is in really good shape,” Caradonna said. “We will be firing on all cylinders,” per Post & Courier.

Renovations will focus on making the interior feel consistent with the downtown cafés and creating room for large catering orders — another sign the brand expects strong demand from day one.

Once open, Caviar & Bananas will join an already caffeine-rich shopping center that includes Muddy Waters Coffee Bar and a Starbucks inside Harris Teeter.

Still, the brand’s loyal following — built since its founding near the College of Charleston in 2010 — suggests there’s room for one more.

And maybe more than one.

Despite opening a second downtown location in 2023 and now expanding to James Island, Caradonna hinted that another Lowcountry location is already in the works, though details haven’t been announced yet.

The Maybank Highway storefront has seen turnover lately.

Maple Street Biscuit Co., owned by Cracker Barrel, closed the location abruptly in October after seven years, part of a larger decision to shut down 14 restaurants nationwide. Another nearby restaurant, Charlotte’s on Maybank, closed in December after just four months, citing rising operating costs — including what the owner described as “obscene” liquor-liability insurance — in a note to customers, according to Post & Courier.

For Caviar & Bananas, though, the timing — and the island — feel right.

A downtown staple is heading off-peninsula. And James Island is about to get a whole lot more caffeinated.

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