Charleston Restaurant Report JULY 2025
ON THE MENU
1. Local Restaurant Scene -- WIDESPREAD SHRIMP FRAUD REVEALED BY LAB TESTING
2. National Restaurant Scene – ONLINE CONTENT CREATION IS BECOMING A NECESSITY IN RESTAURANT OPERATIONS
3. Restaurant Openings, Closings + Coming Soon!
4. Food For Thought -- NEWS FLASH: AI NOW TELLING US WHAT FOOD TO ORDER FOR DELIVERY
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LOCAL RESTAURANT SCENE
WIDESPREAD SHRIMP FRAUD REVEALED BY LAB TESTING
Forty Charleston seafood restaurants have been caught in a damaging lie about serving imported shrimp while suggesting to customers that it's local. Lab testing by SeaD Consulting revealed that 40 out of the 44 restaurants in the testing group that were touting local, wild-caught shrimp on their menus were actually serving imported, farm-raised shrimp. The bad news is there are probably a lot more than those 40 restaurants advertising local and serving imported shrimp. SC is one of only a few southern states that doesn't have a law requiring transparent seafood labels listing a country of origin. That needs to change. Read about it in the Post & Courier.
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NATIONAL RESTAURANT SCENE
ONLINE CONTENT CREATION IS BECOMING A NECESSITY IN RESTAURANT OPERATIONS
Twenty years ago, social media content creation was not part of the restaurant operations and marketing playbook. In today's digital world, however, would-be customers are heavily influenced in their food decision-making by what they see online. As a result, savvy chefs and restaurant operators are pumping out social media content to reach consumers. Nations Restaurant News talks to several restaurant entrepreneurs to see how they handle the workload. Check out the article...
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RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
Openings + Closings list reflects 2nd Quarter 2025 market activity (April - June):
OPENINGS --
Arby’s (Moncks Corner — reopened)
Broad Street Cafe (Downtown — former Bagels by KISS)
Cafe Charlotte (West Ashley)
Cane Pazzo (Hanahan)
Chipotle (Summerville)
Ciao Bella (West Ashley — former La Fontana)
Clutch Coffee (Mount Pleasant)
Crafthouse North (Mount Pleasant)
Dawn Patrol (James Island — former Coastal Snack Bar)
Grit Bakery (Downtown)
Groucho’s Deli (West Ashley)
Harvest (Kiawah)
Jamaican Grill (North Charleston)
Jeff’s Bagel Run x 2 (Cainhoy & Isle of Palms)
Just Love Coffee Cafe (Mount Pleasant)
Katsubo (North Charleston — former Jackrabbit Filly)
King Street Hideout (Downtown — former Barsa)
King’s Leaf Cigars (Cainhoy)
Nonna’s Olde World Italian Deli (Summerville)
Pelato (Downtown — former Butcher & Bee)
Rosemary Rose (Downtown)
Salud Tacos & Tequila (Hanahan)
Sorghum and Salt (Downtown)
Two Bit Club (Downtown)
CLOSINGS --
Bagels By KISS (Downtown)
Cooper River Brewing Co. (Downtown)
Dolly Llama Waffle Master (Mount Pleasant)
IHOP (James Island)
La Fontana (West Ashley)
LB Sweets & Treats (James Island)
My Father’s Mustache (James Island)
O’Brion’s Pub (James Island)
Palmetto Brewing (Downtown)
Poke Cafe (North Charleston)
COMING SOON --
The number of publicly-announced restaurant projects on the Coming Soon list -- expected to open in the next 12 months -- is in the mid-50's at the end of the 2nd Quarter. That's a lot of new restaurants in the development pipeline...
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
NEWS FLASH: AI NOW TELLING US WHAT FOOD TO ORDER FOR DELIVERY
The latest DoorDash Delivery Trends Report reveals some interesting kernels of data around how and why consumers make food delivery choices. According to Restaurant Business Online, the report says consumers are OK with considering AI bot menu recommendations, but they are not OK with robots preparing their food order. And who knew french fries were still the most popular food delivery item? I thought everyone knew french fries don't travel well, but whatever...Garlic naan came in at No. 2. Not surprisingly, consumer cravings show up as the driving factor behind almost all food delivery orders. Read more about it in Restaurant Business Online.
