Charleston Restaurant Report October 2015
ON THE MENU
1. Green Scene – SUPPLY CHAIN REACTS TO MATCH DINERS' FOOD PREFERENCES
2. Local Restaurant News – RESTAURANT PROJECTS MOVING FULL SPEED AHEAD
3. Restaurant Openings, Closings and Coming Soon
4. National Restaurant Trends – DOES YOUR MARKETING HIT THE MARK?
---------------------------------
GREEN SCENE
SUPPLY CHAIN REACTS TO MATCH DINERS' FOOD PREFERENCES
Over the last decade, restaurant operators have been shifting their menus to reflect the healthier, fresher, less-processed foods that diners seek. Locally sourcing food may be a bit easier for smaller, more flexible operators than for regional or national restaurant groups trying to maintain system-wide product availability and menu consistency. As it stands, the food supply chain of growers, distributors, suppliers and broad liners is a vast network that is not yet as nimble as we wish it could be. Read more on the subject here in Nations Restaurant News.
---------------------------------
LOCAL RESTAURANT NEWS
RESTAURANT PROJECTS MOVING FULL SPEED AHEAD
The restaurant + bar population in the Charleston area continues to grow at a brisk pace. More than 25 restaurants opened in the most recent quarter, and another 50+ are on my extended "coming soon" list of restaurants in the development pipeline. About half of those are scheduled to open in the next 3 months, while the rest will linger on in the typical purgatory of overly-optimistic operator deadlines, underestimated project hiccups, and always cumbersome final inspections. As a whole, this is good news for consumers (and vendors) as the increasing number and variety of restaurant offerings provides lots of new choices.
--------------------------------
RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
The following list reflects 3rd Quarter 2015 market activity (July - September, 2015):
OPENINGS --
Belgian Gelato (Mt. Pleasant)
Carolima’s (Goose Creek)
ChuckTown Seafood Café (N. Charleston)
Cortaditos (Downtown – former Ike’s Hot Chicken & Fish)
Counter Culture Coffee (Downtown)
Dell’z at Midtown (Downtown)
Eleve (Downtown)
Ellis Creek Fish Camp (James Island)
Huriyali Gardens (Downtown)
Iron Dog Diner (N. Charleston)
Jimmy John’s (West Ashley)
Low Country Fish Camp (Summerville)
Mercantile and Mash (Downtown)
Morgan’s Market (Mt. Pleasant)
Parlor Deluxe (Downtown – former Sweet Radish Bakeshop)
SIP Charleston (Mt. Pleasant)
Starbucks (West Ashley – former Bojangles)
Stereo 8 (James Island – former Roadside Kitchen)
Sweet Lulu’s Bakery (Mt. Pleasant)
Tattooed Moose (Johns Island)
The Kitchen (Mt. Pleasant – former Bricco Bracco Cucina)
The Westendorff (Downtown)
Thrive Organic Eatery (Downtown – former Georgean’s Carribean Soul)
Tropical Smoothie Café (Daniel Island)
Uncle Maddio’s Pizza (N. Charleston)
Vintage Coffee Café (Mt. Pleasant)
Wayback Burgers (Goose Creek)
Wayback Burgers (Summerville)
CLOSINGS --
Black Bean Co. (James Island)
Bocci’s (Downtown)
Buddy Roe’s Shrimp Shack (Mt. Pleasant)
Huddle House (Mt. Pleasant)
King Dusko (Downtown)
Priya (Downtown)
Saint Alban (Downtown)
Social (Downtown)
Subway (West Ashley)
COMING SOON --
5 Church (Downtown – former Mad River Grille)
Another Broken Egg (Mt. Pleasant – former Pawleys Front Porch)
Anson (Downtown)
Bearded Café & Coffee (Downtown)
Blondie’s Bagels (Daniel Island – former Alchemy)
Chipotle (N. Charleston)
Cove Oyster Bar & Grill (N. Charleston – former Wreckfish)
Crooked Crown (Downtown) 441 Meeting
Crust (Summerville)
Cure (James Island – former J Paulz)
Dairy Queen (Goose Creek – former Tenichi Steak House)
Dunkin’ Donuts (Summerville)
Eclectic Café & Vinyl (Downtown)
Gnome Café (Downtown)
Harold’s Cabin (Downtown)
Home Team BBQ (Downtown)
Istanbul Shish Kabobs (Mt. Pleasant – former Huddle House)
La Lola (Downtown)
Little Jack’s Tavern (Downtown – former Saint Albans)
Maybank Public House (James Island)
Pancito + Lefty’s (Downtown – former Zappo’s Pizza)
Poogan’s Smokehouse (Downtown – former Social)
Raising Cane’s (N. Charleston)
Sawyers (Mt. Pleasant – former Buddy Roe’s)
Star Taco (Mt. Pleasant – former FED)
Starbucks (West Ashley – former Andolini’s)
Stems & Skins (N. Charleston)
The Darling (Downtown – former Union Provisions)
The Hen and The Goat (James Island – former Black Bean Co.)
The Workshop (Downtown)
Tijuana Flats (Summerville)
Urban Cookhouse (Mt. Pleasant)
Verde (West Ashley – former Subway)
Lotus (N. Charleston)
Wok Box (Summerville)
--------------------------------------
NATIONAL RESTAURANT TRENDS
DOES YOUR MARKETING HIT THE MARK?
A recent industry study by research group NDP shows that while overall diner traffic has been stagnant since the recession, operators should drive sales through daypart analysis and marketing toward 18 distinct "visit situations" throughout the day. Traditional marketing that aims at typical breakfast, lunch, or dinner dayparts may be missing the mark. Many operators are already pushing specific "visit situation" promotions and are having success driving sales.
Learn more from NRN's article here.