Happy Friday morning, Charleston! Today holds significant historical importance in Charleston as it is closely tied to the origins of Memorial Day in the United States. The first Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was rooted in a ceremony organized by newly freed African Americans in Hampton Park shortly after the Civil War ended.

Congrats to Beven N. of Mount Pleasant, who was the 1st to guess correctly in our “Where Are We” segment last week! Our photo showed the beautiful grounds of Ashley Hall School, located downtown in the Radcliffeborough neighborhood.

In today’s newsletter:

• We have the scoop. Including what the former Karpeles Museum will become, and who’s opening at a new Mount Pleasant shopping center.

• Y’all are one engaged bunch. I hear from many of you frequently, by email and DM. We now have a real-time, efficient way to collaborate.

• ICYMI. It’s been busy, so we have a few extra for you!

Friday 86° / 63° ⛅ 💧19%

Saturday 86° / 67° ☀️ 💧5%

Sunday 84° / 68° ⛅ 💧15%

Friday, May 30

• School Is Out Jump!! | 10 AM - 6 PM | Charleston Aqua Park, Trophy Lakes, 3050 Marlin Road, Johns Island | Come jump or climb after school to celebrate the start of summer break!

• Kannapolis Cannon Ballers at Charleston RiverDogs I 7:05 PM | The Joe, 360 Fishburne St, Charleston I You know what happens every Friday at The Joe, right?! Baseball followed by fireworks!

• Mavis Staples at Spoleto Festival USA I 9 PM | College of Charleston, 66 George St, Charleston | Experience the legendary Mavis Staples live in the historic Cistern Yard during Spoleto Festival USA.

Saturday, May 31

• Puppy Power Puppy Yoga Charleston Launch | 10 - 11:15 AM | Silver Hill Studio, 2140 Amaker St., Charleston | At Puppy Power, we believe everything AND everyone is better with puppies!

• The Artist's Palate: An Evening of Culinary and Visual Mastery with Amiri Farris & Sonja Evans I 5 PM | Hotel Bennett, Charleston | You are invited to an intimate artist dinner celebrating the intersection of culinary and visual arts.

• Sweat on the Ship 2025 | 6 - 9 PM | USS Yorktown CV, 40 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant | Come sweat with us on the flightdeck of the USS Yorktown then mingle with local vendors.

• AAPI Night Market | 6 - 9 PM I Navy Yard Charleston, 2154 Noisette Blvd, Charleston | Come ready to eat and try something from each of our amazing food vendors. Each stall will have a selection of market style bites and snacks that will give you a taste of their story as culinary creatives representing their heritage and culture.

Sunday, June 1

• Sunday Brunch Farmers Market | 11 AM - 3 PM | Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston | The Sunday Brunch Farmers Market is an all-local market, featuring more than 40 vendors that include local farmers, makers and artisans.

• An Evening With Dark Star Orchestra I 6:30 PM | The Refinery, 1640 Meeting Street Rd, Charleston | Dark Star OrchestraPerforming to critical acclaim for over 20 years and over 3000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience.

• Spoleto Festival USA Presents An Evening With: Branford Marsalis | Charleston Music Hall | 7 PM I A jazz icon for decades, saxophonist Branford Marsalis and his renowned quartet continue to redefine the genre.

For a COMPLETE list of events in the Charleston area, bookmark the site below!

SCOOP INCOMING

What’s Up With Old Karpeles Museum & Other Stuff

• Let’s dispense with the bummer news at the outset: Carolina Butcher & Beer Garden has closed in Mount Pleasant. When I showed up last Thursday night, ready to partake in a sausage dog, I found it shut up tighter than a bank vault. Quite unusual, given Thursday nights are usually busy in the restaurant biz. I went back with a sneaking suspicion Friday night, and they were closed—still. They now have an 8.5 X 11 sheet taped to their door that says “Closed Permanently”. It’s a large space, one that was vacant for at least 4 years before Farmhaus (later Carolina Butcher & Beer Garden) opened. I’ve reached out to the leasing agent for the center—stay tuned.

• Since it’s a stellar redevelopment site, I speculated a few weeks back about what would become of the old Karpeles Museum site downtown. I never got a return phone call from the owner, but I did get the scoop from a very well-placed source. One who knows someone directly associated with the planning. From a text:

• BODYROK, a fitness concept which describes itself as “a modern fitness studio offering ‘Pilates RE-DESIGNED’”, will be opening in the new Bowman Pointe project at Bowman Road and Hospital Drive in Mount Pleasant. They’ll be joining Starbucks—which will have a drive-thru—and a to-be-determined retailer. BODYROK opened last summer in the Morrison Yard project downtown.

Interested in promoting your local business?

CHS Happenings has a fast-growing and super-engaged subscriber base. We’re going to start offering local Charleston businesses the opportunity to reach this audience soon.

If you’re interested, click below and we’ll reach out in the next 30 days.

WHERE ARE WE?

Each week, watch this space for a random snap from somewhere in Charleston. Where are we? Only true locals will know. DM your guess on Instagram, or email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!

CHS HAPPENINGS HAS A NEW COMMUNITY GROUP

As I was walking on Rutledge Avenue a few days ago, I was pondering ways for this growing community to engage more. To talk together about the best events, restaurants and retail.

I experimented for a while with an Instagram broadcast channel and quickly learned I was screaming into a (small) void. It’s simply a lousy way to collaborate.

So I took some inspiration from a Facebook group that was formed during the pandemic called Lowcountry Eat Out, a focused bunch where members weigh in and discuss their favorite Charleston restaurants. This community started from zero and now has 138,000 members.

So I created our very own group this week and I hope you’ll join and participate.

It’s the community of Charlestonians who LOVE this weekly newsletter, but want more frequent updates. Who'd love to start conversations about the coolest events in town, the latest restaurant to open and what they think, what great retailer is opening nearby and more. A whole lot more.

So keep telling your friends about our weekly newsletter, and jump in! 👇🏼👇🏼

3 MOST-CLICKED FROM LAST WEEK

• Our events calendar. Quite useful, huh?

• Spoleto Festival main page. Still going until June 8.

• Heavy’s Barburger website. Burgers, and opinions about what’s #1 and #2, got some of y’all riled this week. 😄 Keep those emails coming!

ICYMI

🫒 Mediterrannean restaurant trying again in Mount Pleasant. Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe is opening in Indigo Square.

🧺 Local couple gets national TV spotlight. They renovated a North Charleston laundromat and made it a welcoming place to do laundry and come together.

🏋🏽‍♀️ It’s not your imagination. Charleston is getting FIT. 

🏖️ Looking for a list of best restaurants at the beaches? Here’s one, and it’s a perfect way to get the conversation started in our new community group.

🤯 Looking for another mind-blown stat about CHS? $14 billion, that’s how much tourists mean to us.

🍝 There’s great early buzz about Pelato, the new Italian restaurant. Here’s Eater Carolinas’ first look.

🇬🇧 It’s not all about bangers and mash in the UK. See what some London visitors thought of Charleston’s culinary scene on a recent visit.

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FEEDBACK

Got 15 seconds? Let us know what you thought about today’s newsletter by voting in the poll below (you’ll be done MUCH faster than cars on Johnnie Dodds at 4:00 PM on a Friday). 👇