Junk Removal in Charleston, SC

Johns Island conjures up visions of shady grand oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, offering a peek into a more rural side of Charleston. Several dining options have long existed for the residents of the island, but as its population grows, so grows the burgeoning food and beverage scene.

Since 2005, Hege’s Restaurant in Freshfields Village has served French cuisine in a bistro setting with classics like French onion soup, crab cakes and steak frites. Down on Maybank Highway, local favorite Wild Olive has led the way in sustainability and locally sourced items, boasting housemade pasta and a stunning Italian wine list.

But these popular staples are not the only game in town.

“We knew that Johns Island was growing faster than other parts of the area and also that we wouldn’t have to deal with some of the same logistic problems,” said John Williams, co-owner of Johns Island eatery The Royal Tern, echoing the sentiments of others who brought their businesses to the island for the community and space.

Bottom line: Johns Island’s developing food and beverage community is now a force to be reckoned with.

U.S. Navy veteran Jordan Hooker opened one of the island’s new additions in June, Somm Wine Bar, and he hopes it becomes a vital name on the island.

“Somm is a neighborhood-focused wine bar specializing in wine flights with special attention to detail, to incredible meat and cheese offerings,” Hooker said. “It’s kind of a Cheers bar, where everybody knows your name.”

Somm’s wine flights come with informational cards about each selection, which help guests discover something new.

“I like when people come in and are open to trying new things because the amount of flights that I have that turn into glass pours are astonishing,” Hooker said.

He said he likes to keep the menu fluid because there’s such a wide variety of wine and charcuterie available across the world. Somm’s charcuterie and cheeses are all vegetarian-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free. And since Somm strictly serves wine, beer and charcuterie, it’s currently the only true wine bar on the island, a fact Hooker is proud of.

“We’re the only ones here on Johns,” he said, adding he is happy about the island’s reception of the shop and the weekly regulars that Somm has already gained.

Another newcomer Periwinkle Kitchen aims to fill a gap on the island, offering healthy chef-made to-go options.

Periwinkle, which opened mid-June on Betsy Kerrison Parkway, has a diverse menu that changes weekly, with fun staples like the BLT tortellini pasta salad and three chicken salad options. Recently, it offered a beef stroganoff that captured flavors of home.

“I was missing my parents, so I wanted to make things that remind me of my mother,” said chef Haley Gunter of the beef stroganoff. For Gunter, Periwinkle Kitchen is a space that allows her ideas to flow. “I finally got to a spot that I was able to help create,” she said.

Periwinkle’s owner Kim Hayes wants to do more than just serve delicious food.

“[Our staff] wants to build their careers, and we want to help them build them,” Hayes said. For her, Periwinkle Kitchen is an opportunity to give back on a personal level.

“I blew my back out in active duty [in the Army] and had a massive spine injury,” she said. “I didn’t know if I would ever stand or walk again, and now that I can, it’s a big thing to come in and see people smiling when they come into the cafe.”

Periwinkle Kitchen values the community and is proud to give back to it. A portion of the proceeds from its Heartfelt Cinnamon Rolls goes to the GreenHeart Charity.

“When you think of us, I hope what people always think of is a company that gives back to the community,” Hayes said. “It starts in your own backyard.”

Periwinkle also has Johns Island’s only juice bar where cold-pressed juices are served. It soon may turn into a smoothie bar, too.

For Johns Island locals, this next one is no secret, but for everyone else, it might be. Seanachai Whiskey & Cocktail Bar opened in 2011 and recently turned over ownership in 2019 to chef and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jason Myers and his wife, former figure skater Marissa Myers.

“The pub has been around since 2011, and it’s just become a landmark and staple of Johns Island,” Jason Myers said. “We’ve been running it more or less the same as the founder intended.”

But, that’s not to say the establishment hasn’t grown.

“We just offer a really strong food program. Nothing crazy inventive, but super, super solid,” Myers said. “We’re a bar with a kitchen, not a restaurant.”

With the island’s increasing growth and the bar’s popularity, Seanachai will soon open for lunch and on Sunday evening’s after brunch.

“[Brunch] has easily become our second-busiest day of the week,” Myers said, highlighting brunch cocktails, like the Irish coffee cocktail, which he said is “second to none.”

He has also grown the whiskey list from about 100 to 350 whiskeys, adding that several times a year, he hosts a whiskey dinner.

“I typically try to do four to six of them a year, and they’re private, ticketed events. The whole pub closes down, the vibe changes to lowlight, candles and jazz, and I do a five- or six-course tasting menu with whiskey and cocktails.”

Myers and his wife also opened Flyin’ High Frozen Yogurt next door, offering frozen yogurt, coffee, pastries, CBD, Delta-8 and Delta-9 products.

Mexican eatery Minero shuttered its doors downtown in 2020 after six years on East Bay Street, but in June 2022, it found a new home on Johns Island — with much more space.

“The downtown location and kitchen were very small. We didn’t have room to have an expansive menu,” said Kenny Lyons, vice president of operations at the Neighborhood Dining Group.

In the new space, Minero added a back deck with games, as well as a live-fire charcoal grill used to make fajitas and items featuring charcoal-grilled chicken, like chimichangas and enchiladas, paired with housemade tortillas.

Lyons said the Johns Island community has welcomed the move with overwhelming support.

Brothers John and Ben Williams fulfilled their dream of opening a restaurant in 2019 when they moved to the Lowcountry and started The Royal Tern.

“The ability to design a space and building based on the way we wanted it as well as the ability to provide parking for patrons and employees was a huge deciding factor,” John Williams said.“Our initial goal was to offer the local Johns Island community a new restaurant where they could feel at home. With their loyalty and praise, we have been able to continue to grow as word gets out to people in the surrounding areas of Charleston.”

The Royal Tern offers globally inspired preparations of seafood and beef created by chef Kyle Kryske. Fan favorites include blackened swordfish, whole grilled fish and grilled shrimp, with gluten-free crème brÛleé and carrot cake as desserts.

Williams added that The Royal Tern’s manager and resident sommelier, Garth Herr, is always looking for wines to complement the menu. It also offers a phenomenal bar and cocktail program led by Jimmy Shea, making The Royal Tern a well-rounded place for a night out.

With so many possibilities, new and old, it’s pretty clear that no matter what you’re in the mood for, the Johns Island restaurant community has a fix for it, and they are excited to see you when you arrive.

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A Charlotte-area coffee shop plans to open three cafés, including one with a bakery, in the Charleston area.

Summit Coffee is scouting sites across the Lowcountry with the new shops slated for the Charleston peninsula, Mount Pleasant and North Charleston, according to CEO Brian Helfrich. All of the new locations will be corporate-owned stores.

Once the Charleston-area sites have been selected, he expects it will take about three or four months before they are ready to open. He’s targeting later this year or 2024 to have the sites customer-ready.

Helfrich first looked at the Lowcountry two years ago for new stores but decided to hold off on expanding at the time.

“It is an awesome destination, but it also has a great culinary scene,” he said. “We want to be part of that.”

The company, founded in Davidson just north of Charlotte in 1998, currently has 10 locations in Asheville, Atlanta and Charlotte, with six others under development in the Queen City and the Georgia capital city.

The new Lowcountry sites will bring the company’s footprint across three states to 19 shops.

“We’re immensely excited to deepen our footprint in our core markets in the coming months and years,” Helfrich said. “Our focus has been to thoughtfully expand opportunities for more customers to interact with Summit, in a way that ensures we’re still delivering a remarkable café experience.”

He added, “We’re now prepared to nearly double our café count by growth in markets we’re already in — Charlotte and Atlanta — and a market we’ve long desired to enter in Charleston.”

Mungo Homes has submitted plans to the city to build just over 800 homes in the Long Savannah development off Bees Ferry Road.

1.25: Millions of dollars paid for 1.14-acre parcel in Camp Hall where the first retail land has been sold near Volvo Cars manufacturing plant.

2: Number of new retail shops coming to downtown Charleston.

215: Cost in millions of dollars for a new senior living facility coming between Kiawah and Seabrook islands.

+ New homes: Homebuilder D.R. Horton wants to build nearly 700 homes in a new Summerville development.

+ In the works: A new 90-unit affordable housing development is in the works near a historic Johns Island plantation home.

+ Finding a home: Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce leases a 2,000-square-foot space.

Publix inks deal for 17th Charleston supermarket

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Several hundred new homes are in the works on the edge of Charleston.

In two recent submittals to the city, Mungo Homes plans to build more than 800 homes in the 3,000-acre Long Savannah development in West Ashley.

The Irmo-based builder recently submitted plans for 568 houses on 156 acres on Bear Swamp Road off Bees Ferry Road.

The proposal comes after the builder submitted plans earlier this year to build 237 homes on about 56 acres at the end of Barons Drive.

A representative of Mungo Homes did not immediately respond for comment.

Developers have rights to build 4,500 homes in total on the property on the edge of Charleston and Dorchester counties.

In 2021, builders and environmental groups settled a challenge to the development to avoid some wetlands destruction and allow for natural water flow by removing older roadbeds used years ago for logging and phosphate mining.

The project also includes conserved green space, and a $250,000 donation by developers to a trust to fund water-management projects in the three drainage basins that the development covers.

More multifamily

A new apartment development is in the works for Johns Island.

Ninety affordable multifamily housing units are slated for 9.35 acres at 1725 River Road next to the entrance to Fenwick Hall Plantation, according to plans presented to the city of Charleston.

The property is owned by the city, which paid $3.3 million for it in 2020.

Storing stuff

A Mount Pleasant-based real estate investment company recently acquired two self-storage properties in the Southeast.

Ziff Real Estate Partners bought a 44,875-square-foot climate-controlled facility in Anderson. The site, previously called Pearman Dairy Self Storage, will be called StoreEase.

The company also purchased a ground-up development tract in Summerfield, Fla., near The Villages master-planned community. When completed, the storage site will be 77,625 square feet with both climate- and non-climate-controlled units. It, too, will be a StoreEase facility.

Finding a home

The Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce now has a physical office for the first time.

The pro-business group has partnered with Pinnacle Financial Partners to lease a 2,000-square-foot space that’s designed to grow staff, hold meetings and have some events at 534 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

Chamber president Jennifer Maxwell said the organization has aspired to have a physical presence in the town for several years.

“This is crucial as part of our plan to continue to grow and support the businesses and community East of the Cooper,” she said.

Several hundred new homes are in the works on the edge of Charleston.

In two recent submittals to the city, Mungo Homes plans to build more than 800 homes in the 3,000-acre Long Savannah development in West Ashley.

The Irmo-based builder recently submitted plans for 568 houses on 156 acres on Bear Swamp Road off Bees Ferry Road.

The proposal comes after the builder submitted plans earlier this year to build 237 homes on about 56 acres at the end of Barons Drive.

A representative of Mungo Homes did not immediately respond for comment.

Developers have rights to build 4,500 homes in total on the property on the edge of Charleston and Dorchester counties.

In 2021, builders and environmental groups settled a challenge to the development to avoid some wetlands destruction and allow for natural water flow by removing older roadbeds used years ago for logging and phosphate mining.

The project also includes conserved green space, and a $250,000 donation by developers to a trust to fund water-management projects in the three drainage basins that the development covers.

More multifamily

A new apartment development is in the works for Johns Island.

Ninety affordable multifamily housing units are slated for 9.35 acres at 1725 River Road next to the entrance to Fenwick Hall Plantation, according to plans presented to the city of Charleston.

The property is owned by the city, which paid $3.3 million for it in 2020.

Storing stuff

A Mount Pleasant-based real estate investment company recently acquired two self-storage properties in the Southeast.

Ziff Real Estate Partners bought a 44,875-square-foot climate-controlled facility in Anderson. The site, previously called Pearman Dairy Self Storage, will be called StoreEase.

The company also purchased a ground-up development tract in Summerfield, Fla., near The Villages master-planned community. When completed, the storage site will be 77,625 square feet with both climate- and non-climate-controlled units. It, too, will be a StoreEase facility.

Finding a home

The Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce now has a physical office for the first time.

The pro-business group has partnered with Pinnacle Financial Partners to lease a 2,000-square-foot space that’s designed to grow staff, hold meetings and have some events at 534 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

Chamber president Jennifer Maxwell said the organization has aspired to have a physical presence in the town for several years.

“This is crucial as part of our plan to continue to grow and support the businesses and community East of the Cooper,” she said.

A financial black cloud continues to hover above one of South Carolina’s largest technology businesses, more than three years after a data breach unleashed a litany of legal liabilities.

Blackbaud Inc. this week said it has set aside $50 million this year to cover the estimated out-of-pocket costs it could incur from numerous lawsuits and government investigations stemming from the 2020 cyberattack.

The Daniel Island-based software firm also said that it’s in talks with the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia — grouped into one negotiation — to resolve their investigations.

Blackbaud finance chief Tony Boor said during an earnings call with investors and financial analysts on Wednesday that the company set aside $19.8 million between April and June to cover costs related to the hack.

The company already has exhausted its insurance coverage, putting it on the hook to pay any fines, penalties, damages and other expenses.

Blackbaud has reported that the breach cost it about $55.7 million in 2022. It expects to pay out as much as $35 million this year.

The fallout is widespread. It includes up to 400 potential requests for reimbursement payments from U.S., U.K. and Canadian customers whose information was compromised, while another 210 such claims have been filed and resolved.

Also, 17 U.S. class-action lawsuits have been consolidated into one case in federal court, and another two have been filed in Canada.

“The security incident has had, and may continue to have, numerous adverse effects on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows,” the company said in an Aug. 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Blackbaud also said it’s “reasonably possible that our estimated or actual losses may change in the near term for those matters and be materially in excess of the amounts accrued.”

The company added that it will defend itself “vigorously against the claims asserted against us.”

Should fines or penalties reach a point that it can’t pay for them with its own funds, the company said it might need to renegotiate its credit lines or take on new debt — and that those two options might not be available at acceptable terms, if at all.

“In these circumstances, if we were unable to obtain sufficient financing, we may not be able to meet our obligations as they come due,” Blackbaud said in the filing.

Blackbaud is one of the world’s largest providers of software and analytical services designed to help philanthropic organizations, from private schools to large charities, raise money from donors.

The company traced the start of the breach to Feb. 7, 2020. The attack went undetected for more than three months.

During that period, the hacker, who hasn’t been caught, gained access to sensitive information about donors, potential donors and other individuals with ties to the affected philanthropies.

Blackbaud paid an undisclosed ransom in exchange for assurances that the data would be deleted. It said this week that it doesn’t believe any of the stolen information “went beyond the cybercriminal, has been misused or has been disseminated or otherwise made available publicly.”

In March, Blackbaud agreed to pay a $3 million penalty to settle an investigation by the SEC that alleged it issued erroneous statements about the breach that deceived investors.

CEO Mike Gianoni didn’t bring up the cyberattack in his prepared remarks during this week’s quarterly financial update. Analysts who follow the company didn’t ask about it.

A cold glass of craft beer is a great way to bond with friends, neighbors, strangers … and pets. If men and women are socializing over a pint, why shouldn’t “man’s best friend,” his dog, tag along?

In Charleston, the general consensus is that they should. Dozens of establishments, from restaurants to breweries, welcome pups on patio seating or even have AstroTurf outside for their comfort. Places like the Dog and Duck Family Pub encourage the presence of pups through occasional “Yappy Hour” events or holiday specials like a Halloween costume contest for dogs.

Low Tide Brewing on Johns Island was one of these establishments for years. Dogs were even allowed inside the brewery because they did not have a fully functional kitchen. The unusual loophole meant dogs and owners flocked there for an afternoon brew. Yet it was one owner with one too many drinks at one Halloween function that brought Low Tide’s reign as Charleston’s dog-friendliest brewery crashing down.

In 2019, an allegedly overserved man was not keeping a close eye on his golden retriever, which clamped its teeth into a neighboring woman’s arm. Fifty stitches later, the woman who was bitten filed a lawsuit against both the dog owner and the brewery. As of June 1, dogs are no longer allowed at Low Tide.

Because of the overserving charge, Low Tide’s insurance bore the brunt of the case’s financial burden. According to brewery owner Mike Fielding, the case settled for almost six figures, paid by his insurance, as the dog owner slipped away scot-free.

Fielding’s insurance rates skyrocketed. They almost doubled after the case, increasing by around $20,000 a year. Business was shut down for COVID-19 as the suit progressed, giving Fielding time to mull over all of his options. Low Tide owners tried everything before banning dogs on the premises, researching supplemental insurance and different waiver options. But after a close call this past spring, it was time to call it quits.

“I hope that some of those dog-owner regulars want to keep coming back and enjoy quality beer with us,” Fielding said, “but if they have to bring their dog to the bar, I understand. We’re just not that establishment anymore.”

Low Tide is far from the first establishment around Charleston that has been financially forced into banning pups. The Salty Dog Café, despite its name, has not welcomed dogs since 1989. After a bite in 2016, Holy City Brewing banned dogs, too, and that’s just to name a few.

After that 2016 bite at Holy City, one local brewer sprung into action. Sara Gayle McConnell, co-founder and vice president at Tradesman Brewing, wanted to get ahead of any liability in case one of these accidents occurred in her workplace.

A former intensive care nurse, McConnell prioritizes safety. Unruly dogs and neglectful owners can put that priority in jeopardy, which she does not tolerate. But that is not the only way she applies her nursing knowledge — McConnell learned that if a person has to sign something, it makes them think twice about it.

Dog-bearing customers at Tradesman Brewing must sign a waiver, accepting liability for the actions of their animal. The few owners who know that their pups might cause trouble rethink entering Tradesman when asked for their signature.

Furry friends who frequent the establishment can be registered for the “Growler Club” behind a $10 fee, waiver signature, and up-to-date shots. These dogs receive a little tag for the loop of their leash and are welcome any time. McConnell said there are 190 Growler Club members, and no one has ever lost their membership for poor behavior.

″(The waiver) is the best weeding out process without having to say ‘get off my lawn!,’” McConnell said. “It’s been very user-friendly, very easy to do, no one really complains about it. But when they do complain, they don’t stay.”

McConnell keeps her establishment friendlier for families and good dogs by keeping troublesome owners and their dogs out.

During Tradesman’s larger events like concerts, McConnell encourages patrons to please leave their dogs at home. She stands behind the idea that a loud and crowded space might spook these pups and cause them to lash out.

Her theory is backed by Firefly Distillery’s recent ban on dogs at their concert events. The venue elected not to comment on the situation. But the abrupt change reflects that even at their 15-acre lot in North Charleston, somewhere with a wild crowd and loud music might not be the best place to bring Fido, whether it’s a concert or a Halloween party.

“When its shoulder-to-shoulder and people have been drinking,” Fielding lamented about the fateful bite at his Johns Island brewery, “it’s loud, it’s boisterous. If you have an anxious dog, it’s a recipe for disaster.”

But not every situation of dogs around breweries, bars and local pubs is a recipe for disaster. In fact, according to each of these bar owners, Fielding included, almost every dog owner respects whatever puppy policy is in place.

It takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch, but most Charleston bars have only experienced positive dog behavior. Dozens of drinking establishments with outdoor seating like Dog and Duck, Frothy Beard in West Ashley and Edmund’s Oast in downtown all welcome leashed dogs. Estuary Beans and Barley, a couple minutes down Maybank Highway from Low Tide, still allows them indoors.

With the same craft brewery loophole that Low Tide used by not having a full kitchen and thus allowing dogs in the dining area, Estuary serves about 20 dog owners a day, according to part-owner Sarah Boberschmidt. She trusts these owners to keep any animals under control in her tasting room.

“You know your pet,” Boberschmidt said, “and you know if your pet gets along with other dogs or people. And if they don’t, its common sense not to bring them into an environment with customers, people, kids.”

Boberschmidt was adamant about the owner’s responsibility for their dogs in a public place and was proud of the behavior of her customers’ pups. But if there is anything to learn from Low Tide, in the case of a dog bite her liability insurance might disagree. At this point, Estuary can only hope that their owners continue to be as responsible and respectful as they have thus far.