Charleston has a habit of pulling talented people into its orbit. Add Johnny and Kasie Curiel to the list — a husband-and-wife duo whose restaurant empire has been stacking Michelin stars like they’re souvenir spoons.
In just two years, the Curiels opened four restaurants in Colorado — Alma Fonda Fina, Cozobi Fonda Fina, Mezcaleria Alma and Alteño — while scooping up national accolades along the way. Alma Fonda Fina snagged a Michelin star two years running and landed at No. 45 on the first-ever North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Mezcaleria Alma followed with its own Michelin star in 2025. Not a bad résumé.
Naturally, cities have been courting them. But Charleston? Charleston didn’t pitch. Charleston simply appeared — the way a great opportunity tends to do when the right people cross paths.
The spark came at an Esquire celebration for the year’s best new restaurants. There, the Curiels met the duo behind Kultura — Charleston chef Nikko Cagalanan and restaurateur Paula Kramer — whose Filipino spot has been one of the city’s buzziest success stories. A collaborative pop-up followed, blending the chefs’ cultures, instincts, and a lot of mutual admiration.
That’s when Charleston began to work its magic.
Johnny Curiel — who grew up in Guadalajara — found himself taken with the city’s coastal ingredients and the ways they could speak fluent Mexican cuisine. “I fell in love with it,” he told the Post & Courier. “It’s kind of like a mecca and a destination for chefs.”
Momentum sealed the deal. Charleston’s dining scene is on a tear, with fresh eyes, new chefs, and bigger ambitions pushing it forward. The Curiels saw a place where their style — fire-driven, technique-forward, soulful — could thrive.
And so, they’re planting a flag.
Their first Charleston restaurant (still unnamed) will open inside The Charlee on Cannon, a mixed-use development at 89 Cannon St. Expect a menu rooted in wood-fired cooking, house dry-aged fish, and the chef’s-counter intimacy that has become the signature move of Fonda Fina Hospitality. One of Alma Fonda Fina’s opening chefs — a veteran of the Michelin-recognized Denver kitchen — will relocate to Charleston to lead the charge.
The couple isn’t treating this as a side project, either. They plan to split their time between Colorado and Charleston, making the Holy City a true second home.
Their timeline: summer 2026.
It’s still early, but one thing feels certain — Charleston didn’t just lure another restaurant group. It attracted a pair of chefs who see this city not as their next expansion, but as their next chapter.
This is a summary of an article published in the Post & Courier. Click here if you’d like to read that article.
