Welcome to CHS Happenings, the weekly (soon-to-be-twice-weekly!) newsletter that keeps you in the know about Charleston events, restaurants & retail.

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Happy Friday morning, Charleston! I’m simply not going to acknowledge what today is, the day and date combo, and everything’s gonna be just great.

This day was notable in Charleston’s history because on June 13, 1796, Charleston experienced one of the most devastating fires in its history. The blaze began in Lodge Alley around 3:00 p.m. and raged until nearly dawn the next day. Fueled by strong winds from the river, the fire quickly overwhelmed the city’s firefighting efforts and swept through densely built neighborhoods. By the time it was extinguished along Meeting Street, more than 250 lots between East Bay Street and Meeting Street had been cleared of buildings, and at least 300 families were left homeless.

The fire destroyed numerous private residences and businesses, as well as several significant public buildings. Among the losses were the original French Huguenot church, the city’s Beef Market, and the old City Tavern at the corner of Church and Broad streets—a site of social and political importance in Charleston’s early days.

Congrats to Lynn H. of Downtown, who was the 1st to guess correctly in our “Where Are We” segment last week! I was doing my best Captain Morgan outside The Reel Bar at Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina on Patriots Point.

In today’s newsletter:

• What happens when a grocery store closes & another’s not interested in coming back in? We show a great example of creativity in space re-use.

• What’s it cost to buy a penthouse in Charleston? Maybe less than you think in our Home Of The Week.

• ICYMI. More Greek, please, and how about Italian, too?

Friday 85° / 77° ⛈️ 💧51%

Saturday 86° / 76° ⛅ 💧39%

Sunday 87° / 76° ⛅ 💧24%

Friday, June 13

• Early Connections | 10 - 11 AM | Children's Museum of the Lowcountry, 25 Ann St, Charleston | Our youngest visitors (ages birth – 3 years) and their grown-ups are invited to join us for special programming each week designed to strengthen connections between the child and grown-up.

• Charleston Gay Bingo | 6:30 - 10:30 PM | North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center, 5001 Coliseum Dr, North Charleston | It's been three long years, but Gay Bingo is back, and we're pulling out all the stops this year!!

• North Charleston POPS! Jazz in the Park | Riverfront Park, 1061 Everglades Avenue, North Charleston | Event Details Enjoy incredible local talent- all set against the beautiful backdrop of the Cooper River.

Saturday, June 14

• The Charleston Duck Race | 10 AM - 1 PM | Daniel Island Waterfront Park, 32 River Landing Drive, Daniel Island | The Charleston Charity Duck Race returns to the Wando River on Saturday, June 14, bringing back its iconic 30,000-duck river drop and expanding into a carnival-style festival.

• Girls in Sports Night | 5 - 7 PM | The Joe, 360 Fishburne St, Charleston | A night of celebrating girls in sports, Leveling the Fields is also hosting an equipment drive outside of the Joe Riley Stadium to source equipment to support their PlayFit and EmpowerPlay programs.

• The Music of Sam Cooke - The King of Soul starring Bradd Marquis7:30 PM | Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St, Charleston | The Music of Sam Cooke: King of Soul with Bradd Marquis.

Sunday, June 15

•  Lowcountry Pizza Fest I 11 AM | The Refinery, 1640 Meeting Street Rd, Charleston | Get ready, Charleston the biggest, cheesiest, most delicious celebration of everyones favorite food is taking over The Refinery this Fathers Day!

• Lowcountry Sunday Rooftop Boil- Fathers Day Edition | 3 - 7 PM | Ritual Rooftop Restaurant & Lounge, 145 Calhoun Street #UNIT 301, Charleston | Join us for a laid-back Sunday gathering celebrating all things Lowcountry - food, music, and good vibes!

• The Supervillains w/ Jwadi | 7 - 10 PM | Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston | The Supervillains bring their signature blend of swamp-punk reggae and ska to the Deck Stage at Charleston Pour House.

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

REDEVELOPMENT

Here’s What Happened To This Mount Pleasant Building When Bi-Lo Left

I’ve written before about the living, breathing nature of retail properties. Literally. More than any other type of commercial real estate—offices, warehouses, apartment buildings—shopping centers and mixed-use projects operate every single day of the week, usually for up to 18 hours.

And in the realm of property ownership, it’s a hotly-competitive space. Housing gets built and new retail follows. As a result, smart retailers continually assess where their stores are positioned. Nowhere is this more pronounced than grocery stores, which operate on some of the skinniest profit margins in the business.

And sometimes they decide to close. In a recent example near-and-dear to Mount Pleasant residents’ hearts. Harris Teeter announced it was closing its Seaside Farms store in late April.

It’s quite possible it won’t be another grocery store that re-occupies that space.

So owners and their retail leasing experts are often left with a HUGE challenge. I’m mightily impressed by how a Mount Pleasant property owner and its team responded when Bi-Lo closed their store.

The Shelmore, The Phoenix Rising From Bi-Lo’s Ashes

Not too long ago, the old Bi-Lo at 774 Shelmore Boulevard in Mount Pleasant was sitting idle—just another reminder of what happens when a grocer leaves and another declines to come back.

But then came a vision that didn’t just dust off cobwebs or bring in temporary tenants for income: it reimagined the entire space. Enter The Shelmore: a sharp, adaptive reuse project that turned a vacant grocery store into a modern mixed-use hub.

Led by Collett Capital with Lions Gate and local partner WECCO Development— a company owned by Charleston’s mayor, Willian Cogswell—the transformation was no quick paint job. The team gutted the interior, removed the dated barrel-vaulted roof, cut in 30+ windows and 10 skylights, and added six entrances—flooding the place with light and new energy.

Tenants like Stanley Martin Homes, US Club Soccer and Berkshire Hathaway now occupy space where bananas and burgers used to be peddled.

They’ll need to bring that vision to the closed Cinebarre theater on Houston Northcutt in Mount Pleasant. Collett Capital purchased that property in November of 2021.

Home Of The Week

I’m still flabbergasted by the entry point for last week’s home. There’s no doubt those homes are huge and will have have top-of-the-line finishes.

But $2.5 million is rarefied air. I thought we’d feature something this week that’s, well, a bit more accessible. And pretty cool, too.

It’s a penthouse condo unit located in the Eastside neighborhood of downtown. At 820 square feet and containing 2BR/1BA, you’d be hard-pressed to find something like this—on the top floor of a building—for under $500K.

Plus it’s furnished.

Contact Kim Farrell if you’d like to learn more.

RESTAURANTS

Shrimpgate Hits Charleston Restaurants

Local shrimpers in the Lowcountry just dropped a shell-shocking report: out of 44 local “shrimpin’ purveyors”—that would be restaurants—only four actually served wild-caught South Carolina shrimp—leaving 40 with more imported tails than a tourist trap sleight‑of‑hand. A staggering 25 were singled out as outright shrimp fraudsters

Cue the local shrimpers’ outrage—Rocky Magwood, president of the S.C. Shrimpers Assoc., fumed that it’s “just proof that we’re getting misled,” and that this bait‑and‑switch has hit both the wallets and the pride of our storied shrimping community.

SeaD Consulting’s Erin Williams called it a blow to “the entire regional economy and culture they’ve worked for generations to build”. Naturally, each restaurant on the naughty list is getting a letter—and a second genetic test—because nothing says “we’re watching you” like shrimp DNA.

Let’s give a special shout-out to those restaurants that are serving the real-deal, SC-livin’ delectable crustacean:

1. Coosaw Creek Crab Shack in North Charleston

2. Grace & Grit in Mount Pleasant

3. Rappahannock Oyster Bar downtown

4. Acme Lowcountry Kitchen on Isle of Palms

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!

3 MOST-CLICKED FROM LAST WEEK

• Our events calendar. Keep checking it out. We have hotlinks pre-set that show you all kinds of categories.

• Our Home Of The Week. You were as intrigued as me when it came to what’s coming to the corner of Coleman Boulevard & Houston Northcutt.

• Charleston’s newest cuisine coming soon. Israeli food is soon to arrive in West Ashley.

ICYMI

🏥 A hospital’s importance to the local community isn’t just about serving the sick and wounded. The new Roper St. Francis medical campus in North Charleston will bring thousands of jobs.

🇮🇹 Summerville has the area’s best authentic Italian delis. And there’s only 2 of them, including this newcomer that opened recently.

🐖 We’ve written before about Charleston’s fabulous barbecue restaurants. Eater Carolinas weighed in recently with their choices for 7 “standouts” in the world of smoked meats.

🇬🇷 I’ve expounded recently about my love for any style of Mediterranean cuisine. The owners of Philosophia are opening a 2nd Greek restaurant in the fast-growing Cainhoy area.

🏨 The Nickel is a new boutique hotel that recently opened on upper King Street. Travel & Leisure gives us a look at what the property owner calls their “next love letter to Charleston”.

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FEEDBACK

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