Charleston Restaurant Report OCTOBER 2020
ON THE MENU
1. Local Restaurant Scene -- CHARLESTON RESTAURANTS FORGE AHEAD IN A COVID-19 WORLD
2. Restaurant Openings, Closings + Coming Soon Lists!
3. National Restaurant Scene – GHOST KITCHENS GIVING RESTAURANTS A LIFT
4. COVID-19 -- MEASURING THE DAMAGE
LOCAL RESTAURANT SCENE
CHARLESTON RESTAURANTS FORGE AHEAD IN A COVID-19 WORLD
As I prepare this issue of the restaurant report, amid ongoing Covid-19 news, it is quite refreshing to see 25+ restaurants on the Openings List this quarter. Having produced this report for 10+ years, it almost feels like a "normal" quarter in terms of Openings. New places to visit, new menu items to try, new interiors / exteriors to check out for creative inspiration....After many months of limited movements and not nearly enough restaurant outings, the Openings provides a glimmer of hope that things are getting back on track, or at least heading in the right direction. With this atypical tourist season coming to an end, local restaurant operators will wish for beautiful fall weather to drive outdoor restaurant sales and help sustain them through the slower winter season.
RESTAURANT OPENINGS, CLOSINGS + COMING SOON!
Openings + Closings list reflects 3rd Quarter 2020 market activity (July - September):
OPENINGS --
Agaves Mexican Cantina (West Ashley)
Biggby Coffee (West Ashley)
Braised in the South (Johns Island)
Come Back Shack (Mount Pleasant -- former Urban Cookhouse)
Eleven81 (Mount Pleasant -- former Wild Wing Cafe)
Fire Asian Grill (West Ashley)
Florence's (West Ashley -- former Black Wood Smokehouse)
Franny & Fox (Downtown)
Guilded Horn (Downtown)
Handy & Hot (Downtown)
Hobcaw Brewing Co. (Mount Pleasant)
Island Provisions (Johns Island)
Juan Luis (Downtown)
Kiki & Rye (Mount Pleasant -- former Ember Wood Fired Kitchen)
Killer Brats at Workshop (Downtown)
Madra Rua (North Charleston -- reconstructed after 2019 fire)
Micho (James Island)
Mi Fiesta Tacos & Tequila (Summerville)
Neon Tiger (Downtown -- former Juliet)
Post House (Mount Pleasant -- former Old Village Post House)
Taco Kitchen (West Ashley)
Tempest (Downtown -- former Queology)
The Deli (West Ashley)
Tobin's Market (Downtown)
Tolli's Apizza (Johns Island)
Ville Sainte (Mount Pleasant -- former Cinco Tex Mex)
Viscious Biscuit (Summerville)
Wicked Crust Pizza (Summerville -- former Andolini's Pizza)
PERMANENT CLOSINGS **--
Carrabba's Italian Grill (Mount Pleasant)
Cracker Barrel (Mount Pleasant)
Cupcake DownSouth (Downtown)
Hardee's (Downtown)
Hen and The Goat (James Island)
Martha Lou's Kitchen (Downtown)
Maui Tacos (Downtown)
One Broad (Downtown)
Shem Creek Bar & Grill (Mount Pleasant)
Sticky Fingers (Downtown)
Sullivan's (Sullivans Island)
The Daily at The Gibbes (Downtown)
**This list does NOT include restaurants that have temporarily closed due to COVID...There are most likely many, many more uncounted restaurants that have permanently closed due to COVID. I expect the number of CLOSINGS to continue rising as the COVID pandemic slowly churns through the local economy and sales lag, PPP loan funds run their course, and vendor / tax / rent obligations pile up.
COMING SOON --
Dozens of restaurant projects were in development and planning to open between March and September of this year. Those plans were severely affected by COVID-19. My tracking list of "coming soon" restaurants, as of late September, includes more than 40 restaurant projects in some phase of development in the Charleston area.
NATIONAL RESTAURANT SCENE
GHOST KITCHENS GIVING RESTAURANTS A LIFT
In the pre-Covid era, only about 15% of restaurants were using ghost kitchens to facilitate To-Go and Delivery orders, according to a Technomic / NRA industry report. During Covid, that number has shot up to 51%. The keys to ghost kitchen success appear to be tied to two important factors -- 1) Having a product that customers really, really want; and 2) Maintaining a direct digital connection with your customers. If you can nail those two factors, your ghost kitchen can succeed, and it doesn't matter if you are a national chain or a local independent. A ghost kitchen should give operators a lower-cost platform to increase their product's availability. However, if your product isn't great to start with, and you don't have a solid online connection with your customer base, then a ghost kitchen may not help revive a struggling brand. Read more about it in Restaurant Business...
COVID-19: MEASURING THE DAMAGE
Earlier this year, more than 6 million jobs were lost in the national restaurant industry due to Covid-19. As of August, approximately 3.5 million F&B jobs had been regained. There are still 2.5 million F&B workers on the sidelines. Will those jobs come back? One would think that F&B operating models are shifting to adjust for Covid and many of those positions won't come back. On the flip side, several states are lifting indoor seating and bar service limits which may accelerate F&B job restarts in those areas. Read more about it in Restaurant Business...