Charleston’s dining scene made an impression

Of the 14 Charleston food-and-beverage superstars who loom over Queen Street in a mural painted by David Boatwright, four have left the industry. Three have moved away. Two have died.

But just over a decade ago, when Napa Valley’s Mira Winery commissioned Charleston’s most celebrated muralist to liven up an exterior wall of its new tasting room, the people depicted on brick were inseparable from the city’s surging culinary scene.

Of course, plenty of other restaurateurs, chefs, and local food enthusiasts contributed to the triumphant spirit that seized Charleston around 2010, when the city claimed its third straight James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast. But those featured in Boatwright’s reimagined “Luncheon of the Boating Party” were emblematic of the warm hospitality, respect for regional traditions, and belief in the Lowcountry’s bounty that boosted Charleston’s profile.

Not long ago, I came across a signed print of “Renoir Redux” at a yard sale. Now, it leans against my office wall, and whenever I look at it, I’m struck by how impeccably it captures a cultural moment that dissolved amid compounding cachet and big money from elsewhere. Maybe it’s apt that Mira was responsible for memorializing it.

With the mural having recently observed its tenth anniversary, this seemed like an ideal time to talk to its creator and subjects about how the work came together.

Who’s in the mural? Scroll to the end for an identification guide.

THE MURAL’S COMMISSION

David Boatwright, artist: By default, I got all the calls, so Mira asked me to come up with something. They were pretty experimental; they put cases of wine in the harbor. So, my first idea was an under-the-sea scene with wine and barracudas, which sounds like a pretty good idea now. But I passed on it. I knew because it was so deep in the peninsula, I had to meet the bounds of good taste.

The Gibbes [Museum of Art] is right there, and that’s what got me going on the art thing. Then, I thought of the boating party. You wouldn’t be able to go in front of the city and say, ‘I want to paint an advertisement,’ but we can do a little product placement [on the table] there.

CASTING THE MURAL

Boatwright: I tried to get them so they sort of had the physiognomy of the people in the painting to some degree. I went around to each person and, well, Mickey Bakst is kind of the godfather, so he did help contact some.

Mickey Bakst, maître d’ (Paul Lhote, French artist): I reached out to most of the people to invite them to be in it.

Mike Lata, chef (Adrian Magglio, Italian journalist): Ten years ago, I would see David more frequently, so it felt like a friend asking a friend. Of course, I was honored to be included in anything he was producing.

Frank Lee, chef (Gustave Caillebotte, French impressionist): I’ve known David and his family since I was in junior high school in Columbia. His sister and I were classmates, and his brother was also involved in our little vegetarian food co-op in Columbia in the ‘70s, so he approached me like an old friend. I was intrigued.

Robert Stehling, chef (Baron Raoul Barbier, one-time mayor of colonial Saigon): I loved David’s work and had participated in his murals before. It’s always nice to be included, although it felt a bit random.

Bakst: I always felt I should have been more in the forefront as I organized the chefs. Oh well, never lost sleep over it.

THE MURAL’S LAUNCH

Lee: I was shocked, because Sean [Brock’s restaurant] was right next door, and I was like, ‘He’s not in it? How did that happen?’ I didn’t feel like it was some kind of untoward gesture, but I have a great fondness and respect for Sean.

Boatwright: I definitely wanted [Brock] in there, but I kept getting his publicist or someone like that saying, ‘He’s really busy.’ I thought he’d probably want to, but I put someone else on the left side.

Lata: I kind of forgot about it until the Mira folks reached out to have a party. It was bigger and more impactful than I thought it was going to be.

Boatwright: There was a little ribbon cutting, and a New York Times photographer was there. I’d also picked out the color of the building to go with the mural. Then, they repainted the building a few years later, and I thought it looked better when they changed it. I was wrong.

SEEING THE MURAL NOW

Lata: Recently, my 13-year-old son, Henry, had a class trip downtown and saw it for the first time. I was telling him about David and the rest of the folks in the picture, and it brought back some good memories of the food landscape back then. I would have guessed it was more than 10 years ago.

Stehling: I’d forgotten about it until recently while in town, I randomly walked by. It felt like a window on to a different place and time, like watching reruns of Sean and Tony [Bourdain] drinking Pappy and fishing in the swamp. That mural came at a heady time in the Charleston food scene. There was a surreal quality to those days.

Lee: What’s really funny is we were just at the airport, going to our gate. We passed an advertisement for Poogan’s Porch, and the mural was in the picture for their advertisement. I got a real kick out of it. I even took my picture pointing to the mural.

You know, there’s more to it than meets the eye. It was really quite well done: It captures the good camaraderie in Charleston at the time. Now, the community is much more spread out. To afford a mom-and-pop; to find parking for employees, you have to go out to the hinterlands. I think that might be affecting the collegiality.

Boatwright: I don’t know if you’ve heard about Airbnb Experiences, but I’m going to be giving short little walking tours. I’ll start at Hank’s—I’ve got two pieces there—and then go to the [Charleston] Crab House, and then Amen Street, and then Carmella’s, and then we’re going to hike over to the mural on Queen Street and talk about what went into that painting and why.

It’s this summation of the food scene, and how vital it was, and how everyone was connected. There may have been behind-the-scenes backstabbing, but I wasn’t aware of it. Everyone was mutually supportive.

Mural IDs

1. FRANK LEE

Then: The acknowledged dean of Charleston chefs, Lee served as executive chef at Slightly North of Broad.

Now: Lee retired in 2016 to take care of his wife, Robin, who died of complications associated with frontotemporal dementia on August 16, 2024.

2. KARALEE NIELSEN FALLERT

Then: Owner of Taco Boy and The Royal American, and founder of The Green Heart Project, a gardening program for schoolchildren.

Now: Since 2014, Fallert has opened The Park Café (now Park & Grove), Wiki Wiki Sandbar (now The Bounty Bar), and another Taco Boy in Summerville.

3. MIKE LATA

Then: Chef and co-owner of FIG and The Ordinary

Now: “Aside from being 10 years older, marrying Jenni [Ridall Lata], and having two more awesome sons, not much else has changed,” Lata reports.

4. MICHELLE WEAVER

Then: Executive chef of Charleston Grill

Now: Weaver retired in August 2024.

5. MICKEY BAKST

Then: General manager of Charleston Grill

Now: Executive director of Ben’s Friends and Feed the Need

6. FRANK MCMAHON

Then: Executive chef of Hank’s Seafood Restaurant

Now: Culinary Operations Manager for Makeready, the Dallas-based company which operates restaurants including Hank's in Charleston and Columbus, Ohio

7. MATTHEW NIESSNER

Then: Corporate executive chef for Halls Management Group

Now: Corporate executive chef for Halls Management Group

8. VICTOR “GOAT” LAFAYETTE

Then: Bowens Island oysterman

Now: Lafayette died on January 14, 2024

9. MATT LEE

Then: Matt Lee and his brother, Ted, had just published The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen, their third cookbook in six years.

Now: Food event coordinator and heirloom grain farmer

10. NATHALIE DUPREE

Then: A legendary cookbook author and party host, Dupree in 2013 had been named Woman of the Year by the Maître Cuisiniers de France.

Now: Dupree died on January 13, 2025

11. ROBERT STEHLING

Then: Chef-owner of Hominy Grill

Now: After closing Hominy Grill in 2019, Stehling moved to Queens. He writes, “I've mostly hung up my apron, restauranting not being as much fun as it used to be.”

12. CHARLOTTE JENKINS

Then: Chef-owner of Gullah Cuisine

Now: Jenkins retired in 2014 but still conducts cooking demonstrations with her daughter.

13. CRAIG DEIHL

Then: Executive chef of Cypress and Artisan Meat Share

Now: Deihl lives in North Carolina.

14. SARA CLOW

Then: General manager of GrowFood Carolina

Now: Vice president of StratifyX, Inc., an ag-tech company in Boulder