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Two new dining venues are opening in the Lowcountry this week, another is turning out the lights and a coffee chain plans to unveil three cafes in the region in 2024.

On the upper Charleston peninsula, upscale Chinese restaurant XO Brasserie opened March 12 at 1090 Morrison Drive at The Morris office complex.

The 87-seat dining venture offers Cantonese and Sichuan flavors from owner Herman Ng, who was previously at The Royal Tern restaurant on Johns Island. The menu includes small plates, house-made dumplings, noodles, rice, chef specialties, sides, desserts and cocktails.

Located on the bottom floor of a two-story building at Brigade Street and Morrison Drive, XO is open after 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Fourth helping

Also opening this week is the fourth of six planned Lowcountry restaurants from a bagel brand.

Ruby's New York Style Bagels will open March 15 at 3485 Park Avenue Blvd. in Carolina Park in northern Mount Pleasant. It will be open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. daily.

Other venues are planned for the developing One Nexton commercial destination near Summerville and the forthcoming Marketplace at Carnes Crossroads retail complex in Goose Creek.

Ruby's will be one of six new dining spots in the developing Publix-anchored One Nexton retail center at 1288 Nexton Parkway across from Brighton Park Boulevard. It will occupy 1,408 square feet, according to the commercial real estate firm Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic, which represented the tenant.

Others are Catrina’s Cantina, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Woodhaven Pizza, Indian restaurant Naan Appetit, and Dulce Churros, Ice Cream and Cocktails.

Ruby's also will be one of six planned restaurants coming to the new Goose Creek retail center, which also will be anchored by a Publix supermarket. Others are Firehouse Subs, breakfast cafe First Watch, Japanese restaurant Masa, donut and corn dog shop Mochinut, and Poke Cafe, according to leases signed through the commercial real estate firm NAI Charleston.

The bagel shop has other locations in southern Mount Pleasant, North Charleston and West Ashley.

Bye for now

In Summerville, a brunch spot is closing its doors this weekend.

Day Drink Brunch Lounge said on Facebook that after two years in business, its hosting property has been sold, prompting the eatery to unexpectedly shutter its doors at 106 E. Doty Ave. on March 16.

Retail

The bright spot is the owners plan to reopen once they find a new space.

“Given that this is an unexpected close, we cannot estimate how long it may take to bring Day Drink back to you,” they said on social media. “We hope to bring Day Drink back in a bigger and better way in the near future.”

On the way

Also in Flowertown, a new breakfast and brunch restaurant is in the works.

Biscuit Belly plans to open in the fall at 118 W. Richardson Ave.

The Kentucky-based chain also will open another restaurant this year in Fort Mill near Charlotte and has future plans to expand into Greenville.

The cafe is generally open 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at many of its nearly dozen locations across Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Virginia and its home state. Two others are planned for North Carolina.

Perking up

Three years after first announcing plans to expand into the Lowcountry, a North Carolina-based chain specializing in a cup of joe plans to open three locations in the Charleston area this year.

Summit Coffee will have two shops in Mount Pleasant — at 565 Belle Station Blvd. off Long Point Road and at 411 Hibben St. in the Old Village — and another store on the edge of Summerville at 408 Brighton Park Blvd. in Nexton.

The Belle Station site will double as a bakery to supply pastries and other food items to the additional Lowcountry cafes. It's expected to open in the spring, followed by the Nexton shop in the summer and the Old Village cafe in the fall.

Summit, with 13 locations in Georgia and North Carolina, offers organic coffees and a rotating selection of seasonal blends along with its food selections. The company was founded in 1998 in Davidson, N.C., north of Charlotte, by Tim Helfrich, who remains on the board. His brother, Brian Helfrich, took over the company in 2011 and is the CEO.

Opening the manor

A cooperative retail enterprise that opened in a former home decor store in February in Mount Pleasant will host its grand opening March 15-16.

Modern Manor, an eclectic venture with 40 boutique owners in 66 spaces in the 10,000-square-foot former Heavens Marketplace site at 2521 U.S. Highway 17, will kick off the event with a cocktail party 5-7 p.m. March 15 to allow attendees to meet vendors. Invitations are not needed.

On March 16, the main event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. will include food trucks as well as other mobile vendors selling cocktails, desserts, coffee and fresh flowers.

Retail

Also, artists and a children's book author will be on site offering signings, and a permanent jewelry site will be set up throughout the weekend.

Modern Manor opened in early February in the building that once housed Boone Hall Farms' farm-to-table food emporium for 14 years before it closed in early 2020. The former red-painted, barnlike structure has since been coated in white with black trim.

Heavens Marketplace went dark in December, 16 months after its owners ventured down the coast from Myrtle Beach to sell housewares.

Dance moves

A dancer, choreographer and trainer who has worked with several Hollywood actors is bringing a new fitness studio to the Charleston peninsula.

Celebrity trainer and dancer Anneclaire Nelson will launch her first permanent ACE studio on March 18 at 695 Meeting St. on the ground floor of The Rumley apartment building. It is touted as being the first in the city with a sprung floor, which helps absorb shock and can reduce injuries.

Nelson originally introduced her techniques through a private Sullivan’s Island studio and pop-ups at venues such as The Charleston Place hotel and The Dance Space on the peninsula.

Nelson founded ACE, short for the Anneclaire Experience, in 2022, using dance to help sculpt and challenge muscles.

With more than 20 years of expertise, she helps clients build strength and confidence through movement by incorporating weights, resistance bands and dance cardio through workouts that are individualized and personalized.

Originally from Greenville, she’s lived in Los Angeles, New York City and Miami, where she’s had the opportunity to work with leading fitness brands and train celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr.

Book it

Charleston County Library System's "Spring Book Sale" is this weekend.

Sponsored by the nonprofit Charleston Friends of the Library, the sale runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m on March 15 and 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on March 16 at the Otranto Library at 2261 Otranto Road in North Charleston. An exclusive members-only sale is set for 4-7 p.m. on March 14.

The event includes hundreds of used offerings, including fiction, nonfiction, children's books, cookbooks and other genres. Prices start at $1 for paperbacks and $4 for hardback books. Proceeds support the library system's program offerings.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Lowcountry Rapid Transit project is making headway this year with plans to complete 60% of the project’s design by July.

The Lowcountry Rapid Transit will be South Carolina’s first-ever mass transit system. This project has been in the works since 2016 and in January, the LCRT team was finally able to begin focusing on the project’s design. They are looking at finalizing the major elements of the transit system including the exact route and stop locations, what the buses will look like, the technology that will be used and the amenities that will be found at the stations. While the design team is evaluating the transportation aspects, they are also focusing on what else the LCRT will bring to the community.

CARTA Chairman Mike Seekings said that he wants to emphasize the importance of the project’s design phase.

“We want to make sure that when this project is up and running, we have provided the community and the region with an opportunity not just to get around, but to build things that we need, like attainable housing, like live work, play nodes all around our stations. So, there’s just a lot going on. It’s really a very busy time at Lowcountry rapid transit,” he said.

Seekings said they hope that the 21-mile-long transit system will provide the community with job opportunities and housing while making it more accessible to travel around the Lowcountry.

Throughout the start of this year, Charleston County held five public meetings to inform the community about different projects being funded by the sales tax program. The LCRT team attended all of these meetings to engage with community members and get feedback on the project. Seekings says they received a lot of positive feedback at these meetings, as well as constructive feedback and they are listening and taking all of that into consideration. Seekings said this project is for the community and they want to build it based on what the Lowcountry residents need.

“Hearing what people bring to the table in terms of their needs, wants and desires for mobility in our region is really the key element of all of this. Bringing a system to the community that reflects the community’s needs, wants and input is just a huge part of it. So, we take that very seriously. We’ve really put that into the mix. Our design team has been listening has been out there in the community with lots of people so really, please give us your feedback because we’re listening,” Seekings said.

Anyone can submit their input on the Lowcountry Rapid Transit project through the link found here. Wednesday is also the last day to take the Downtown Charleston Transit Study Survey which is linked here. This survey is about mobility across the peninsula, but it also looks at how they plan to integrate other parts of transportation, transit and mobility in and around the LCRT.

“We could never have done this without community support across the board. And that’s something that’s been really good to see that people are engaged and like what they see have been able to give us input. And we built off that input,” Seekings said. “We want to make sure that we take every step along the way to do it the right way. Get feedback from the community and bring to the community what they’re looking for, but it’s exciting time in this region. We’re growing and bringing transit, transportation and mobility options to people who are going to be here for a lifetime is really something that’s transformative. It’s an exciting time for sure.”

Seekings said they have received tremendous feedback, but they always want to hear more. He said they want this to be something that benefits the community not just right now, but for many years to come and they want this project to be something they can build off of.

Seekings said that once they have 60% of the design plan completed in July, he believes it will take about a year to look at the technical specifications. They are anticipating being able to begin construction in late 2025. The construction process will take time, but Seekings wants everyone to know that this project will look different from most road projects, and nothing will be displaced as a result. It will mostly be things like intersection changes.

The project is also pretty much set funding-wise. The project is funded 60% by the federal government and 40% is coming from the 2016 half-cent sales tax program. The team just has to make sure the design of the system and the ridership numbers match the federal requirements. No money for this project will be borrowed along the way and there will be no tax increase because of it. They will be fully funded to build and complete the project, as well as run and maintain it.

“It will be a modern, very efficient transit project that has never been seen in this region before,” Seekings said.

More information about the LCRT and the timeline of the project can be found here.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Jenny Ferrara and Michael Bourke knew they wanted to open a bookstore bar — they just needed the right neighborhood and community for it. They think they’ve found it on 50 Bogard St.

Ferrara and Bourke, who married in 2019 (City Paper covered their love story for a Valentine’s special back in 2017), started talking about a bookstore bar on their first date. A shared love of books and “a nice glass of wine” led to Philosophers & Fools, a bookstore that will serve wine, beer and snacks, and it’s now open.

“Whenever we travel we look up the local bookstores and go to as many as we can,” said Ferrara. “We’ve seen the cafe concept with some kind of wine or bar element and we know that it works in other places. We thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be great in Charleston? Why don’t we create that?’”

The project was funded in part by a successful kickstarter campaign at the end of 2023 which Ferrara said helped “alleviate some of the startup costs.” In addition to the generous donations of others, Ferrara and Bourke have poured a lot of their own sweat equity into Philosophers & Fools.

“We are painting ourselves and building all the bookshelves ourselves and we’re doing all the sourcing of decor and furnishings,” said Ferrara. They brought a contractor on board to work on electrical and plumbing and to build out the store’s bar.

The 1400-square-foot space will have a small seating area in addition to the bar, where Ferrara imagines guests cozying up with a drink and a book or perhaps serving as a space for small book clubs to meet.

Perfect pairings

Books are the star of the show at Philosophers & Fools, and Ferrara expects the store to start with an inventory of about 5,000 titles. “Hopefully there’s something for everyone,” she said, adding that sourcing books for the store has been the couple’s favorite part of the process.

“Our approach is that we want anyone who walks in to be able to find something that interests them,” she said. “We have a wide variety in all genres, from fiction to nonfiction to kids to young adult.”

Before you ever even walk into the store, you can get a book recommendation from Ferrara or Bourke — just head to philosophersandfools.com to see their lists from seasonal “books we’re excited for” to “staff picks.”

Ferrara wants guests to find something nice to sip on, too, and she and Bourke have partnered with Advintage Distributing to curate a solid list of wine and beer. The store will have NA drinks and coffee available too, as well as snack-y foods like popcorn, chips and sandwiches.

“As we’ve met with neighbors, the response we’ve gotten has been enthusiastic,” said Ferrara. “It’s really great to receive that support and excitement.”

Philosophers & Fools is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Voting is now open in Best of Charleston!

Best of Charleston is back in 2024 with all your favorite categories plus some new options including Best Bar Food, Best Locally Based Cannabis Product, Best Drag Queen, Best Surf Lessons and more.

Help us continue to bring you Best of Charleston every year by donating today.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Lowcountry is no stranger to flooding. Still, the City of Charleston has several drainage improvement projects in the works to alleviate some of these flooding issues.

The Peachtree Outfall Improvement Project is one of these projects that may soon benefit the many residents of Wagener Terrace. This is a flood-prone neighborhood with many low-lying streets in the area. The pipe systems in this neighborhood drain out into the marsh, but because of that, marsh material and mud will often block these channels and prevent the water from draining. That water then overflows into the streets, exasperating the flooding from high tides or storms. The outfall is very blocked up in this area.

This project would clean these pipes and restore the flow from everything south of San Souci Street almost to I-26. This outfall drains about 100 acres of Wagener Terrace so a large area would see improvement with this project.

This project costs $238,900, not including permitting money, and was funded about a year ago. The stormwater operating budget receives $1 million yearly to fund these smaller projects. This is still considered a small allocation project, though it does have a bit of a higher price tag. These small allocation projects usually sit at around $50-100,000, but for this one, they needed to use certain more expensive methods to protect the environment. The Peachtree Outfall Improvement Project has been going through permitting processes since receiving funding. It took some time because they had to clean through the marsh and ensure they were using methods that minimized ecological damage. They want to preserve the environment as best as they can.

This is a common issue among projects like this. The City of Charleston’s Stormwater Management Director Matthew Fountain says they are currently working on finding less expensive ways to stay on top of projects like these while still preserving the ecological environment. He says the city has been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to find smoother and faster ways to work through this permitting. Fountain says that these projects are incredibly important. He says that the drains that already exist need to continuously be cleaned and maintained.

“There were a number of decades with some deferred maintenance across the city for a number of reasons, from funding considerations to the challenge of a lot of this ecological permitting. We’ve shifted over the last few years into a much more proactive approach as a department saying that we need to be restoring all of these systems bringing them back into full functionality and also building capital projects for the future,” he says.

Fountain says he feels the city has done a good job at being more on top of these projects. He says they have at least 20 similar projects in the works.

“So, it’s a big ship to turn, but I think the city - created the stormwater department a number of years ago - and really reprioritized flood reduction and has put a lot of effort into it,” Fountain says. “It’s starting to make some serious results and see some improvements in flooding in a lot of neighborhoods.”

They have finalized the design documents and bid the Peachtree Outfall Improvement Project out to contractors. The next step is to get contract approval.

The City of Charleston Committee on Ways and Means will meet Tuesday night to vote on approving the construction contract for the Peachtree Outfall Improvement Project. The meeting will take place at City Hall at 4:30 p.m.

If the contract is approved, Fountain anticipates them beginning the project in the next few weeks, and he hopes to have it completed before the summer hurricane season. He says this will not fix all of the flooding, but it will prevent the frequency of flooding and benefit the area greatly.

“I’ll say, this does not fix all flooding. It is not a capital project to the level where this area will never have any standing water again, but it will let it drain much more quickly and it will prevent a lot of the frequency of flooding we’re seeing in this area,” he says. “Flooding is certainly a recurring, serious issue for the people in the community. So we need to be doing a lot to try to resolve it.”

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

South Carolina health inspectors found multiple violations at restaurants in the Charleston area in February, kitchens with roaches and insects to shelves covered in food debris. The state each month releases grades and inspection reports for food establishments in the Charleston area.

Here are the restaurants that received some of the lowest ratings in February.

Manjar Latino Restaurant Bar had an inspection on Feb. 9 and got a C grade.

An inspector observed flies and roaches in the kitchen. Also observed was roach poison stored with food.

Black buildup was seen in one of the coolers. Raw chicken was not being stored in containers. Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Chicken, rice and whole fish were not allowed to cool properly.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on Feb. 20 and got an A grade.

Saffron had an inspection on Feb. 21 and got a C grade.

An inspector observed insect and roach activity in the kitchen area.

Food debris buildup was seen on kitchen shelving, lowboy coolers and the meat slicer. Mold was seen in the large ice machine.

Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Bug spray was being stored near clean dishes.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on Feb. 29 and got a C grade.

El Rincon had an inspection on Feb. 15 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed sausage being thawed in a sink.

The restaurant’s back door was not sealed properly. Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. There was was not date marking system in place to show if certain foods had expired.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on Feb. 22 and got an A grade.

The Refuge had an inspection on Feb. 7 and got a B grade.

An inspector observed a buildup of debris on walls and floor under the dish machine. Food debris was also observed on shelving.

Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Gouda cheese was seen not allowed to cool properly.

The restaurant had a required followup inspection on Feb. 13 and got an A grade.