Happy Friday morning, Charleston! Maybe you’re just now waking up, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, and not feeling up to audience participation. But I promise, it’s gonna be fun. You have 2 opportunities to weigh in this week. 👇🏼👇🏼

Congrats to Sylvia Z. of Mount Pleasant and Nancy Deutsch of Johns Island, who guessed correctly in our “Where Are We” segment last week! We were at the Charleston Museum (not the Aquarium 😊). The Charleston Museum was founded in 1773 and is known as America’s First Museum.

Please follow us on Instagram. When we get to 1,000 followers, we’ll do a $50 giveaway to a local restaurant!

In today’s newsletter:

• West Ashley is about RE-development. There’s a few more properties being re-imagined.🏗️

• Should you return a steak if it’s not done to your liking? CHS steakhouses weigh in, and you do, too. 🥩

• ICYMI. Ice cream on Folly, party time in North Charleston and a new cafe/market downtown. 🍨

Friday 66° / 49° ☀️ 💧1%

Saturday 72° / 44° ☀️ 💧1%

Sunday 56° / 40° ⛅ 💧1%

Friday, February 28

• High Tea at Bal Harbour Shops Pop-up | 3 - 6 PM | The Whitman at Bal Harbour Shops Pop-up, 101 Ferry Wharf Rd, Mount Pleasant | Pinkies up— experience an afternoon of elegance with a traditional-style tea service featuring live music, teas, finger sandwiches, and sweet pastries crafted by The Whitman's culinary team.

• Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents The Greatest Show On Earth I 7 PM | North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center, 5001 Coliseum Dr, North Charleston | Get ready for The Greatest Show On Earth®! The reimagined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® invites Children Of All Ages® to a spectacle of superhuman feats, pushing the limits of possibility and thrilling families and fans of all generations. Get closer to the action than ever before. Feel part of the show with an immersive, 360-degree environment and new technology that creates real connections between you and unforgettable performers from all over the world.

• Noche de Verano Sin Ti I 9 PM | Music Farm, 32 Ann St, Charleston | NDVST presents DEBÍ TIRAR MÁS FIESTAS | The Bad Bunny Party 🔥

  Charleston! Party with us as we celebrate the new DTmF album from Bad Bunny and other reggaeton, dembow, merengue, & latin dance hits!

Saturday, March 1

• Where the Wild Things 5K Run/Walk | 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Caw Caw Interpretive Center, 5200 Savannah Highway, Ravenel | Walkers, joggers, and runners of all ages, come explore your wild side on the scenic nature trails at Caw Caw Interpretive Center. An award ceremony with food and beverages will be held immediately afterward. Family friendly yoga and other activities will go on throughout the morning.

• Mardi Pardi at BLU at Tides Folly Beach | 12 - 6:30 PM | Blu Beachfront Bar & Grill, 1 Center St, Folly Beach | The vibes are high, the drinks are flowing, and the music’s just right—we're throwing a Mardi Pardi at Blu for a full day of beachfront fun! Sip on Trop Hop beers and our festive King Cake Spritz while soaking up the sunshine, salty air, and killer live sets. No cover, no stress—just great music, food & drink specials, and a beachfront party you won’t forget.

• Oyster Gras | 1 - 7 PM | Cannon Distillery, 1734 Signal Point Rd, Charleston | Time for an epic Shell-ebration! Experience the perfect blend of Southern tradition and Mardi Gras magic at this unique event. Join us for a family-friendly day filled with live music, games, activities, and of course plenty of delicious food. We'll have fresh, local oysters roasted to perfection, not to mention some delicious crawfish. We'll also have live music, an open bar option, and games & activities for all ages.

• 90's Country @ Music Farm | 7 - 11 PM | Music Farm, 32 Ann St, Charleston | The Nashville Nights Band - your ultimate choice for authentic 90's country music! Our band offers your favorite music, from your favorite 90's Country stars like Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, John Michael Montgomery and more. You experience a unique blend of classic country sounds, heart-warming lyrics, and upbeat rhythms that will keep you dancing all night long.

Sunday, March 2

• Mardi Paws Adoption Event at BLU at Tides Folly Beach | 12 - 4 PM | BLU Beach Bar & Grill at Tides Folly Beach, 1 Center St, Folly Beach | On March 2, the property will also be hosting a dog adoption event on-site in partnership with Charleston Animal Society, called Mardi Paws, for those looking to bring a fur baby home with them.

• Teddy Bear Picnic | 2:30 - 5 PM | Hampton Park, 30 Mary Murray Dr, North Charleston | Join us for the 15th annual Teddy Bear Picnic – The Lorax edition! This beloved free tradition takes on a new theme this year, inviting the community to celebrate their parks at Hampton Park. Embrace the spirit of The Lorax by dressing up as your favorite character and get ready to explore, learn, and play with Charleston Parks Conservancy! The event and activities are all free and open to the public. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. This event is rain or shine so make sure to plan accordingly!

• Alton Brown Live: Last Bite I 7:30 PM | North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center, 5001 Coliseum Dr | The famed foodist reflects on his decades in food media, presents several of his favorite culinary mega-hacks, sings some of his funny food songs, and in general offers a culinary variety show the likes of which human eyes have never seen.

For a COMPLETE list of events in the Charleston area, bookmark the site below!

REDEVELOPMENT

West Ashley Leads In Charleston-Area Redevelopment

Redevelopment—taking underdeveloped or long-vacant properties and reimagining them—is a favored topic for me. Something about working with constraints, the geometry of a site surrounded by roads in a mature community or a historic building to restore versus a wrecking-ball solution.

It simply seems more compelling than blank-slate, greenfields development.

I’ve written recently about Citadel Mall’s ongoing redevelopment efforts. Or the City and a private developer coming together in a partnership to re-do the Ashley Landing shopping center and the prominent triangular land at the corner of Old Towne Road and Sam Rittenberg Boulevard.

Or even efforts to re-cast smaller properties around the Charleston area.

So I was intrigued when an old Ryan’s restaurant on St. Andrews Boulevard was recently demolished after being closed for close to 10 years.

It seems its time had come when it shut down.

Plans for this former all-you-can-eat restaurant and the adjacent property—recently bought by the Trident healthcare system—are still fuzzy.

But it got me thinking “WHAT is going on?!” with another West Ashley property. The highly-visible former Hyundai dealership site at Dupont Road and Savannah Highway.

That site has been dormant for at least 7 years. An opportunity waiting to happen.

It’s owned by a local hospitality company that also owns the Market Pavilion Hotel downtown and the neighboring Town & Country Inn & Suites.

Back in 2023, they were proposing to build this.

We know it can take a long time to develop property in Charleston. This one has been slowly winding its way through Charleston County’s process.

In 2023, the landowner was proposing a 7-story 200-room hotel with a rooftop restaurant and 10,000 square feet of what they describe as “convention space”.

Its final shape will take more time to develop. But it seems to be getting closer to fruition. A new zoning application was submitted in October.

WHERE ARE WE?

Each week, watch this space for a random snap from somewhere in Charleston. Where are we? Only true locals will know. DM your guess on Instagram, or email me here. The first person to guess correctly will get a shout-out at the top of our issue next week!

RESTAURANTS

Charleston Steakhouses Answer An Important Question

We have terrific steakhouses in Charleston. Halls Chophouse, Oak Steakhouse, and one of the newest, Marbled & Fin, are top-notch.

The Post & Courier recently posed a question that sometimes arises for diners at high-end steakhouses: Should you return a steak if it’s not cooked to your liking?

While this may be a question that’s not so relevant when you’re eating at Outback, at any of the above places, it matters!

Steaks at these fine establishments are super high-quality, with prices reflecting it. A 14-ounce wet-aged New York Strip at these 3 ranges from $65 to $72.

Before a la carte goodies, of course. 😁

How about you? Would you return your steak if it wasn’t cooked as you requested?

I want to hear from you. Unless you order your steak well-done. Which is widely-known as an abomination.

HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD!

If you like what you’ve been reading, I’d be SUPER grateful if you click the button below and leave a testimonial. Make it as long or short as you’d like.

It’s an easy, fast setup and should take you 30 seconds or less.

I’ll add your testimonial to my subscription page. Think of it like a Yelp review which lets newbies know “This is definitely worth your time”.

It’ll help me grow CHS Happenings and keep bringing you cool perks like our events calendar. 🙏🏼

ICYMI

☕ A new cafe named after the owner’s Mom opened downtown. It’s a market, too, where you can buy beer, wine and baked goods from local purveyors.

🍨 What’s a better combo than beach + ice cream? There’s not many, and Folly Beach has a new option to visit.

🎉 What makes a party really stand out? If you answered grilled meats, beer and cake, you missed go-karts and laser tag. It’s coming to North Charleston.

🍽️ We’re always looking for new restaurants to visit in CHS. Here’s some ideas from the City Paper (and your chance to weigh in below).

🍴 Parker Milner, the Post & Courier’s food editor, is likely DONE with me saying he’s got a cush job. But he’s good at it, and here’s his favorite 5 restaurants for February.

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FEEDBACK

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