Charleston Restaurant Report APRIL 2020
ON THE MENU
1. COVID19: CORONAVIRUS UPENDS THE CHARLESTON RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
2. Restaurant Openings, Closings + Coming Soon Lists!
3. National Restaurant Scene – MEASURING THE DAMAGE
COVID 19: CORONAVIRUS UPENDS THE CHARLESTON RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
The Coronavirus threat alone was enough to torch the Charleston restaurant industry without hardly putting a match to it. The statewide shutdown of restaurant dining rooms on March 17th has quickly decimated the local industry, and there is no end in sight. For the most part, the restaurants that are able to stay open have been reduced to squeaking by on delivery and to-go business that would normally account for a small sliver of annual revenues, with the pizza delivery biz being the big exception. The vendors are suffering too, plain and simple.
It's too early to tell who will survive for a come back and who will give it up by the time it's all said and done. There are some restaurants that have already thrown in the towel for good. Amidst the uncertainty, and the unconnectedness created by social distancing, inspiration can be drawn from the many ways that people are coming together online to support the local and national restaurant industry.
Here are a few examples to check out:
Diningatadistance.com
serviceindustry.tips
thepatron.io
saverestaurants.co
Gofundme.com
restaurantworkerscf.org
ofwemergencyfund.org
coastalcommunityfoundation.org
Charleston City Paper's Good To-Go List
As we move through this pandemic, shutdown schedules and re-opening timelines remain fluid. It's fair to say that the local restaurant economy will be shutdown for at least another month at a minimum. April rent is due now and May rent will be even more difficult to pay. Call your landlord and talk it through. Get creative! It will be a lot easier and less expensive for the landlord to work with you (assuming you have been a good tenant) than for him/her to try to find another restaurant tenant in the current market environment.
RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
Openings + Closings list reflects 1st Quarter 2020 market activity (January - March):
OPENINGS --
167 Raw (Downtown -- relocated to former Il Cortile de Rei)
Alfredo's on Folly (Folly Beach -- former Wich Doctor)
Annie O. Love's Cafe of Sweet Abundance (West Ashley)
BKedSHoP (Summerville)
Cafe Roux (Sullivans Island -- former Pier 22)
Choice Deli (North Charleston)
Fiery Crab Juicy Seafood (North Charleston -- former Fatz Cafe)
Firefly Distillery (North Charleston)
Gale (Downtown)
Galpao Gaucho (Downtown – former Tradd’s)
Jersey Mike's (Summerville)
Krispy Kreme (North Charleston)
Little Miss Ha (Mount Pleasant – former Betty’s Eatery)
Locals (West Ashley -- former Manny's Mediterranean Grille)
Neighborhood Tap House (North Charleston)
Nosh Cafe + Bar (West Ashley)
Paisano's Pizza (Mount Pleasant)
Pitte's Coorg Coffee Co. (Mount Pleasant -- former Coorg Indian Cafe)
Queology (Downtown -- former Tabbuli)
Simply Seafood (Johns Island -- former JB's Smokeshack)
Sipango (Downtown -- former Paw Paw)
Starbucks (Summerville)
Tabbuli (Downtown -- relocated to former Classic on King)
The Woodruff (Johns Island)
Tropical Smoothie Cafe (Mount Pleasant -- former Subway)
Yeamans Hall Canteen (Hanahan)
Zeppelin Pizza Co. (Johns Island -- former FUYU)
PRE-CORONAVIRUS CLOSINGS (in Jan/Feb before the COVID-19 shutdown) --
Black Wood Smokehouse (West Ashley)
Bojangles x 5 (throughout the area)
Boone Hall Farms Market (Mount Pleasant)
Boxcar Betty's (Summerville)
Classic On King (Downtown)
Coorg Indian Cafe (Mount Pleasant)
Dell'z Uptown (Downtown)
Gale (Downtown)
La Hacienda (James Island -- due to fire)
Locals (North Charleston)
Papa Zuzu's (Mount Pleasant)
Roadside Seafood (Johns Island)
Rusty Rudder (Mount Pleasant)
Zoe's Kitchen (West Ashley)
COMING SOON --
While there were many restaurants planning to open in March, April, and May, those plans were put on hold indefinitely by the COVID-19 shutdown. My list of "coming soon" restaurants, as of March, includes more than 60 restaurant projects in some phase of development. Sadly, only time will tell which, if any, of those projects will come to fruition this year.
NATIONAL RESTAURANT SCENE
MEASURING THE DAMAGE
The restaurant industry is in the midst of an upheaval. Even before coronavirus, the business was shifting away from larger dining room formats (and higher overhead) in favor of smaller, quicker-service models built for speed and convenience while also paying close attention to food quality and sustainability. The coronavirus experience will most likely speed up that shift away from large dining room prototypes to more nimble, flexible spaces that can handle more delivery + to-go orders with less employees + lower overhead.
Restaurateurs that are still standing at the end of this pandemic will undoubtably take their experiences with them going forward into their next projects. The next generation of restaurateurs who are watching and learning now will also carry foward the lessons they are learning about the importance of flexibility and adaptability to be able to respond to an ever-changing restaurant environment.
We are still in this slow-moving storm, so it's too early to fly over the damaged areas and make a full assessment. There are all sorts of predictions in the media about how extensive the coronavirus damage may be to the restaurant industry. There is one thing we already know for sure: The long-term impacts -- financial, psychological, physical, emotional, societal -- and resulting damages will be tremendous.