Good morning, Charleston! Congrats to Lee S. of Mount Pleasant who guessed correctly that our WHERE ARE WE photo from last week is the Second State Coffee location in West Ashley. Did you know that’s 1 of 4 locations Second State Coffee operates in the Charleston area?

It’s sales tax-free weekend, people! Support your local retailers and save 9% in the process. 😉

In today’s newsletter:

• Johns Island is the place to be in CHS? Johns Island is sleepy no more. 😳

• Spicewalla is a new word. It means “no boring food, please”. 🫚

• ICYMI restaurant news. There’s always movement in CHS. 🍽️

Friday 90° / 79° 🌦️ 💧47%

Saturday 89° / 78° 🌦️ 💧35%

Sunday 86° / 76° 🌩️ 💧75%

Friday, August 2

• Firefly Friday Happy Hour: Live Music by Phillip Blackstone I 4:30 - 7:30 PM I Firefly Distillery, North Charleston I Join for Happy Hour on Friday, June 28 from 4-8pm, with live music by Phillip Blackstone, $1 off all cocktails and $6 beers! Free Admission. Rocket Burger food truck will be there with all your favorite eats!

• Lowcountry Boil Fridays at Get Carried Away & The Perch I 5:00 - 7:00 PM I Get Carried Away, Mount Pleasant I The Perch at Get Carried Away in Mount Pleasant is hosting Lowcountry Boil suppers every Friday for only $10 per person. Come eat, drink, and get carried away!

• The Rocky Horror X-Men Show I 10:00 PM I Terrace Theater, James Island I Terrace Theater and Charleston's Absent Friends are thrilled and chilled to bring you an X-Men themed Rocky Horror shadow cast experience this August in honor of Deadpool and Wolverine and X-Men ‘97! 

Saturday, August 3

• Charleston Farmers Market I 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM I Marion Square, Downtown I Enjoy fresh local produce, food and beverage vendors, art, live music & more!

• Jurassic Quest I 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM (also running Sunday) I Charleston Area Convention Center, North Charleston I There’s no better place to make pter-iffic memories playing with adorable baby Dinos, excavating fossils, or even training a raptor while surrounded by behemoths like sky-scraping Spinosaurus and, the King himself, Tyrannosaurus rex! Get your tickets for North Charleston now before they go EXTINCT!

• The Viper's Bloodline Awakened: Release Party! I 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM I blūm, Downtown I Come to blūm for an epic night celebrating the release of 'The Viper's Bloodline Awakened'! Get ready for a night filled with live music, delicious food, and plenty of drinks. This is your chance to mingle with fellow fans, meet the author, Winnifred Tataw, and snag a signed copy of the book and other goodies.

Sunday, August 4

• Charleston Zine Fest I 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM I Halsey Institute Of Contemporary Art (at College of Charleston), Downtown I This grass-roots festival, founded by Leigh Sabisch and run by Sage Graham, showcases self-published authors and artists from the Lowcountry and beyond. Here you can talk to the creators directly, attend one of the several free lectures or demos, print your own poster, meet the founder of the Art-O-Mat and more.

• Southeast Crab Feast I 1:00 PM I Wannamaker Park, North Charleston I Organizer is a non-profit organization that supports cancer research and treatment organizations such as St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, American Cancer Society, along with other non-profits.

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum I 3:00 PM I Queen Street Playhouse, Downtown I Broadway's greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent and one of the funniest musicals ever written. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000-year-old comedies of Roman playwright, Plautus, with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville.

NEIGHBORHOODS

Johns Island Is Happening

Johns Island isn’t sleepy anymore. If you’ve driven Maybank Highway toward downtown in the morning recently, you probably faced a steady stream of brake lights.

In the past decade, the population has doubled to 28,000. And from 2000 to 2020, it exploded by 50%.

Since a picture tells 1000 words, let’s look at this. 👇🏼

What was undeveloped land became homes and commercial developments in the past 10 years. Johns Island’s proximity to the peninsula is the reason why. Lee & Associates, a Charleston commercial real estate brokerage, has an excellent resource tracking JI development.

There’s been growing pains, though. If you’re trying to buy a home, an up-and-to-the-right chart is the last thing you want to see.

A mantra in the retail and restaurant world has long been “Retail follows rooftops”. Case in point, Johns Island.

Wild Olive has been on JI since 2009, well before the current boom. If you were lucky enough to eat at Fat Hen, you’d know they were an O.G. too. Unfortunately, the pandemic claimed Fat Hen as a victim.

But it wasn’t vacant long. Minero opened there in the summer of 2022.

Recently, New Leaf Builders has been developing Hayes Park off Maybank Highway, which offers excellent spaces for retailers and restaurants, as well as unique and beautifully designed homes.

New Hayes Park businesses are all owned by local entrepreneurs, in an environment described by one owner as a “mini-Mount Pleasant”.

Whether that conjures up positive or negative vibes for you, the retail space in Hayes Park is well-designed. Which is likely why it’s leased up well.

New tenants include Grace Frederick Design (home furnishings), Somm Wine Bar, and High Steaks (butcher shop). Several restaurants are on the way, including Heyday from the owners of the terrific Island Provisions.

But the very latest exciting news to come out of Johns Island is the opening yesterday of The Dunlin, a boutique hotel developed by Auberge Resorts Collection. They operate what they call “one-of-a-kind experiences in extraordinary destinations”.

That describes where they are in the gorgeous 2,000-acre community of Kiawah River. The Dunlin has 3 dining venues, all led by a chef who previously helped lead a Florida restaurant to a Michelin star.

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, and the first 3 that are correct will get a shout-out next week!

Harder this week? 👇🏼

RETAIL

Cooking just got spicier

I am FAR from a cook. I make decent pancakes, and I occasionally achieve success on my Big Green Egg.

But when I eat, I want spice. Flavor. Robustness on my palate. 😉

So I was happy to hear that the team behind Chai Pani restaurants in Asheville, Charlotte, and Atlanta, recently opened Spicewalla at 49 John Street.

The Spicewalla shop offers single spices like cardamom and cumin, but it also sells special blends like chai masala, Korean barbecue rub, Chesapeake seafood seasoning, and even chicken wing rubs from rapper T-Pain.

ICYMI

🍖New meat-and-three restaurant opens in Summerville. Keoni’s Express opened inside a BP gas station, which means the ‘cue HAS to be legit.

🤪 16 Non-Boring Lunch Destinations in Charleston. Which is your pick for “definitely non-boring”?

☕️ Coffee roastery opens cafe in North Charleston. King Bean Coffee Roastery opened the first brick-and-mortar café for the 30-year-old company.

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FEEDBACK

Got 15 seconds? Let us know what you think about today’s newsletter by replying to this email or voting in the poll below (you’ll be done MUCH faster than you can get across the Johns Island bridge into town). 👇