Happy Friday, Charleston! If you read this issue when it’s hot off the presses, it’ll be 53 degrees. Simply, Ahhhhhhhh.

Kudos Matthew A. of Wagener Terrace who jumped on our “Where Are We” segment last week! Matthew guessed correctly that our photo was of the entrance to the Unitarian Churchyard cemetery. The cemetery is located just off King Street, just north of King Street.

In today’s newsletter:

• Trader Joe’s placed its sign over the new Mount Pleasant store 3 weeks ago. They haven’t publicly announced their opening date. We have the scoop. 🛒

• It’s an Italian kinda weekend. We tell you where and when. 🇮🇹

• ICYMI. 5, count ‘em, 5 stories. 🥘

Friday 72° / 53° ☀️ 💧2%

Saturday 76° / 57° ☀️ 💧3%

Sunday 79° / 64° ☀️ 💧5%

Friday, October 11

• Bourbon Tasting Event at FortyEight Wine Bar & Kitchen | 5 - 6 PM | Freshfields Village, 165 Village Green Dr, Johns Island | In partnership with Garden & Gun's BBQ, Bluegrass and Bourbon Event, FortyEight Wine Bar is hosting a Bourbon Tasting on Friday, October 11th.

• Whiffenpoofs Concert | 7 - 8:30 PM | Circular Congregation Church, 150 Meeting St, Charleston | The nation’s oldest a cappella group, Yale University’s Whiffenpoofs are in town. Tickets are just $20 and $10 for students. Since their founding in 1909, the Whiffenpoofs have brought their diverse repertoire of vocal jazz, folk, pop, and Broadway hits to more than two hundred audiences each year across all 6 inhabited continents. In past years, the ‘Whiffs’ have sung for Presidents Obama, Bush (41 and 43), Clinton, and Reagan, and at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center.

• Riverfront Revival | Riverfront Park, 1061 Everglades Ave, North Charleston | The two-day festival will be loaded with unforgettable live music, engaging culture and delicious tastes inspired by the region's unique food ways. Guests will leave feeling revived - deep in their souls - about the music, the location, and the community we're building together.

Saturday, October 12

• Avondale 5k | 8 - 11 AM | Triangle Char & Bar, 828 Savannah Hwy, Charleston | The Avondale 5k is a family and pet-friendly walk and run through the beautiful Avondale neighborhood that begins at Triangle Char and Bar and ends with what's been called "the best after race party" in town! The A5k is the largest annual fundraiser for the Charles Webb Center, a childcare center for kids with special needs and disabilities, the only of its kind in South Carolina.

• Disney On Ice presents Into the Magic I 10:30 AM | North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center, 5001 Coliseum Dr, North Charleston | All guests ages 2 & above require a ticket for entry. A clear bag policy is in effect for all events at the Coliseum and Performing Arts Center.

• 12th Annual CCC Cornhole Tournament at The Windjammer | 2 - 6 PM | The Windjammer, 1008 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms | 12th Annual Carolina Children's Charity CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT

• (Grateful Dead > Led Zeppelin ) I 6 PM | Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston | RAINBOW FULL of SOUND Keyboardist - Waynard Scheller has performed with Grateful Dead members : Bob Weir, Donna Jean Godchaux / Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Hot Tuna / Members of RatDog, Furthur and many others, as well as (3) North American Tours in 2015 and 2016 on keyboards with the John Kadlecik Band.

Sunday, October 13

• Summerville Italian Feast | 11 AM - 6 PM | Hutchinson Square, 102 S. Main St, Summerville | Join us on Sunday October 13th at the Italian Feast in Downtown Summerville, Hutchinson Square. We will be there with adoptable dogs and meeting members of our community! The Italian Feast is from 11AM-6PM. 108 Craft/Food Vendors, 22 Food Trucks.

• An Afternoon with David Sedaris I 2 PM | Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St, Charleston | David Sedaris, author of the previous bestsellers Calypso, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and regular National Public Radio contributor will be appearing for one night only, following the release of his newest books, A Carnival of Snackery and Pretty Ugly.

• Men At Work I 8 PM Charleston | Doors will open at 7:00 pm and the show will begin at 8:00 pm. The Charleston Music Hall does NOT have an elevator. Please take that into consideration when buying balcony tickets (Sections F, G, H, I & J).

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

RETAIL

Trader Joe’s New Mount Pleasant Store will Open Tuesday, October 15

There’s sources, then there’s well-placed sources. And the latter type shared Trader Joe’s newest store will open next Tuesday, October 15.

But wait? The banner over the store, located in Mount Pleasant’s Sweetgrass Corner shopping center, says October 18.

I took that photo yesterday, and the banner just went up in the past few days. I think it’s Trader Joe’s trying to give us a head-fake.

But don’t yell at me if you show up on Tuesday, waiting in a line that really lets in on Friday the 18th. 😳

Suffice it to say the pressure will soon be off the south Mount Pleasant Trader Joe’s and you might be able to find a parking spot there the day before Thanksgiving.

What About That Large Block Of Space Next To Trader Joe’s?

Way back in the Stone Age of my publishing, almost a year ago, I reported here that South Carolina would soon be getting its first Homesense store in Hilton Head.

Homesense is a division of The TJX Companies, Inc., which also owns TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Homegoods. According to my wife, Kim—and I paraphrase—it’s a much less-cluttered, more-focused version of a Homegoods.

She loves it. And in a very unofficial survey of 2, so does our friend, Penny.

In that post last November, I wrote “Why am I reporting on activity in Hilton Head, when we’re focused on Charleston? Because they’ll make their way here, sooner rather than later. The Charleston market is too prosperous for them to ignore.”

Homesense has signed a lease for a portion of the space next to Trader Joe’s at Sweetgrass Corner.

One For The Duffers

For those of you who love spending 4 hours every Saturday or Sunday traipsing through the woods trying to find a little white ball, you’ll love this news.

Golf Galaxy will be opening next to Homesense.

Golf Galaxy is a whole lot more than just your pro shop at the country club.

Stay tuned for the opening dates for each of these retailers.

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 & COMMUNITY

Anthony Marini’s Been Through A Lot

I finally got to The Pass yesterday for lunch. I’d heard so much about the quality sandwiches being served up here.

But I heard more about the challenges faced by the owner, Anthony Marini.

Anthony opened The Pass in 2021, in a pandemic. Trying to build a new business during those times had to be brutal.

Then on February 13 of this year, a car drove through the wooden facade of his restaurant. Not just any car, as it turns out. A Maserati. 😕

Anthony sounds nothing if not resourceful. He quickly converted to selling sandwiches out of a window facing Spring Street. All while his restaurant was closed for 3 months for renovations.

The Pass is a small restaurant, with just a few tables and a high-top counter with seating facing the sandwich makers right there.

Including Anthony, a Philly native who, it seems, leans into his Philly.

As I sat at one of the high-tops yesterday relishing my “Such A Nice Italian Boy” sandwich, Anthony was right in front of me, working side-by-side in a very cramped space with 4 employees.

I mentioned I wanted to get there for a while. Anthony said “What the hell took you so long?!”

Italian Feast Is This Sunday In Summerville

I have some very fond memories of eating my way through the Italian Festival in Baltimore’s Little Italy neighborhood. So I was quite pleased to learn that Summerville has its own.

The Summerville Italian Feast is going on this Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM in downtown Summerville.

I’m particularly excited about visiting Talucci’s Bakery, which is having its grand opening this weekend.

I interviewed Jacklyn Talucci about the Italian bakery she and her husband, Charles, would be opening back in August.

ICYMI

🍽️ Plenty of Charleston restaurants deservedly get great press. This one doesn’t but it should.

🏠 Imagine you contracted to have your beautiful new home built. And the builder decided to cancel the contract.

🍲 Food halls, with multiple vendors, became a thing in urban areas about 10 years ago. Charleston’s version is no longer.

🗞️ The New York Times revealed its list of America’s favorite restaurants. This Johns Island favorite made the cut.

🍴 Food & Wine tells a story about Charleston. About an oyster and okra gumbo.

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FEEDBACK

Got 15 seconds? Let us know what you thought about today’s newsletter by replying to this email or voting in the poll below (you’ll be done MUCH faster than Trader Joe’s announces an opening date). 👇