James Island Ordered a Steakhouse

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Most restaurants start with a concept and go hunting for a place to put it. Josh and Katie Drewry keep doing it backwards.

Before they opened The Harlow on Harbor View Road, they put the question to James Island on Nextdoor: here are a few ideas, what do you actually want? The answer came back loud. No franchises. Something homegrown. And take over an old building instead of knocking one down. Katie grew up on the island and started working in restaurants at 15, so she knew the neighbors meant it.

That last request got my attention. I spent 31 years leasing retail space in the D.C. area, a lot of it to restaurant operators, and second-generation space is where good neighborhood places get made. The bones are there, the math works, and the neighbors already know where to park. The Harlow went into the old Smith Family Cleaning building. Now the Drewrys are doing it again.

Char House Social is taking over 1234 Camp Road, the old Smoky Oak Taproom building. Smoky Oak closed in 2021, and a few concepts have come and gone since. This time the landlord made the call himself. He and his wife were Harlow regulars, and he asked Josh if they wanted the space. Josh admits taking on restaurant debt felt a little shaky. They said yes anyway.

What the island was missing

Josh's read is simple. "There's places that serve a good steak, but not anywhere that's focused on steak," he told me. Live music has the same gap. The closest real room is the Pour House, and "nothing in this pocket," he said, even with plenty of music lovers (and a few working musicians) living out there.

So Char House is both. Steaks come off what Josh calls the Ferrari of char grills, a brand-new Baker's Pride. There's a permanent stage by the bar and a second one planned for The Yard, an outdoor hangout for people waiting on a table. Expect bands Thursday through Saturday to start, and the music wraps by midnight. This is a dinner spot with a soundtrack, not a late-night bar.

Chef Brett Riley, already the Drewrys' partner at The Harlow, runs the kitchen. Josh points to Riley's Michelin-star background and his years butchering in New York, and Riley plans to cut some of his own steaks in house. Don't expect Japanese A5 Wagyu or a prime-only price tag. The goal is good Choice beef, seasoned lightly, priced so a family can come back next week. The one dish they've shown so far is Riley's Tumbleweed Onion, and WhatNow reports Texas-style chili and queso, grilled chicken and grilled fish on the list too.

Happier hours run 4 to 6, the same as The Harlow. Sunday hours come later, with an 11:30 to 6:30 shift in mind.

Employees first, on purpose

The part of our conversation that stuck with me had nothing to do with beef. Every employee at The Harlow has Josh's personal cell number. People told him that was a bad idea. Three years in, he's gotten four calls, each one a real situation from someone who'd been there long enough to trust him with it.

It goes back to his dad, who told him he was better than no one and should outwork everyone. Zach Siders now oversees the general managers at both restaurants, Austin Swede runs both bars, and Josh still sits in on interviews to hear how they talk about training and growth. One Harlow host who was nervous on her first day is a server now. She told the Drewrys she's a different person in public.

In three decades across the table from restaurant owners, I met plenty who poured everything into the guest and gave the staff a passing glance. The food can be perfect, and the night still falls flat if the person carrying it started the shift getting yelled at. The Drewrys built the whole thing the other way around.

Rhett's cheeseburger

The Harlow itself started in the back seat. Every trip in or out of the house, their son asked for a cheeseburger, and it's on the kids menu now as Rhett's cheeseburger. Oysters on the half shell and a good burger were the two things the couple loved that the island didn't have. Char House is the same instinct with a bigger grill.

Timing: Josh is aiming for early November, depending on final inspections. The liquor license is already filed. Watch @charhousesocial for the date.

James Island asked for a steakhouse with a stage, homegrown, in a building it already knew. It's about to get one. I'll be there opening week. Save me a seat near the stage.

Sources: My interview with co-owner Josh Drewry, plus WhatNow Charleston (address, Smoky Oak's closing, the stages and The Yard, menu preview) and WhatNow Charleston (The Harlow's building)