Charleston Restaurant Report JANUARY 2024
1. Local Restaurant Scene -- DHEC STRUGGLES TO KEEP UP WITH RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS
2. National Restaurant Scene -- RESTAURANT TRENDS FOR 2024
3. Restaurant Openings, Closings + Coming Soon!
4. Food For Thought -- BLACKBIRD LOYALTY PROGRAM APP LANDS IN CHARLESTON
LOCAL RESTAURANT SCENE
DHEC STRUGGLES TO KEEP UP WITH RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS
The Post & Courier recently did a deep-dive into the state's restaurant inspection department and the results are not too rosy. The food safety division of DHEC is struggling to keep up with restaurant inspections in our growing restaurant industry. The ratio of inspectors to restaurants is lower today than it was in 1997. For every SC DHEC food safety inspector on staff, there are now 289 restaurants. Twenty years ago, we expected to see a DHEC inspector in the kitchen every three months. Now restaurants are being inspected once a year in many cases. Fines for repeated health code violators pile up and the offending restaurants stay open.
As part of DHEC's realignment this year, the Food Safety Division is being moved into the Department of Agriculture's Consumer Protection Division. The department head intends to hire 25 more food safety inspectors and implement operational efficiencies to increase the number of restaurant inspections. The question is -- will that be enough to prevent the next foodborne illness episode that sickens a hundred people or kills someone? The industry and the dining public deserve better. Read the article here....
NATIONAL RESTAURANT SCENE
RESTAURANT TRENDS FOR 2024
As 2023 came to an end, Nation's Restaurant News named 32 trends to watch for in 2024. The trend list includes tomatoes, lab-grown meat, high-tech hardware, cooked cheese, Venezuelan cuisine, non-asian fried rice, license plate-reading tech in the drive-thru, and many more....Check out the full list and commentary here....
RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
Openings + Closings list reflects 4th Quarter 2023 market activity (October-December):
OPENINGS --
Bagels by KISS (Johns Island)
Bearcat (West Ashley — former Al Di La)
Buffalo Wild Wings (North Charleston)
Checkers (North Charleston)
Chicken Salad Chick (North Charleston)
Condado Tacos (Mount Pleasant — former Atlanta Bread Co.)
Costa (Downtown)
da Toscano Porchetta Shop (Downtown — former Gnome Cafe)
Dog & Duck (Moncks Corner)
Dulce (Moncks Corner)
Farm Haus Butcher & Beer Garden (Mount Pleasant — former JuJu)
First Watch (North Charleston)
Hurricane Coffee (Goose Creek)
King BBQ (North Charleston)
LoLa (Mount Pleasant — former Mustard Seed)
Lost Isle (Johns Island — former Braised in the South)
Lowland (Downtown)
MIX (Mount Pleasant — former Butcher & Boar)
Prophet Coffee (North Charleston)
Revelry Brewing (Folly Beach)
Slim Chickens (Moncks Corner)
Sticky Fingers Rib House (Summerville)
The Harlow (James Island)
The Pickle Bar (Summerville)
The Quinte (Downtown)
Wendy’s (Moncks Corner)
CLOSINGS --
Brown’s Court Bakery (Downtown)
Little Miss Ha (Mount Pleasant)
Los Gorditos (Hanahan)
Oak Road Brewery (Summerville)
The Sparrow (North Charleston)
COMING SOON --
The number of publicly-announced restaurant projects on the Coming Soon list -- opening in the near future -- is in the mid-60's at the end of the 4th quarter. A lot to keep up with...
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
BLACKBIRD LOYALTY PROGRAM APP LANDS IN CHARLESTON
If you are looking to really step up your customer loyalty rewards program, check out Blackbird. It's a new app that's focused on helping restaurants stay in touch with and reward their loyal customers. The app allows customers to chat with the restaurant in real time and allows restaurants to track their customers' preferences and provide perks. For independent restaurants without big marketing budgets, this can be a low-cost way to stay in touch with regulars and encourage infrequent diners to become regulars. Local restaurants are taking notice. Read about it in The New York Times here...
