How the Resurgence of the Neighborhood Restaurant and Growth of Food Trucks is Shining Light on the Charleston Food Scene

Originally published as a letter to the editor of the New York Times in response to: “As Mainstays Depart, Charleston Asks Where Its Restaurant Scene Is Headed”.

Lately, there have been a lot of articles published about Charleston’s dying food scene, oversaturation and the loss of Southern culture in cooking. This idea that Charleston has lost its culinary identity is absurd. Charleston’s shifting culinary scene is business as usual, a culinary evolution so typical of growing tourist destinations that you could set a kitchen timer by it. The only real problem with the Charleston food scene is that food writers continue to write stories about the restaurants and celebrity chefs that are driving the city’s mediocre food scene. The New York Times Article, “As Mainstays Depart, Charleston Asks Where Its Restaurant Scene Is Headed,” missed a huge opportunity to dive deeper into the neighborhoods and see what’s actually going on in the nooks and crannies, on neighborhood street corners and in the hole-in-the-wall gems that drive the new neighborhood-driven restaurant.

There is an entire cross-section of this culinary evolution that is completely overlooked by this largely one-sided article – a resurgence of neighborhood-driven – cafes, quick-service shops, pop-ups, neighborhood food truck rodeos, and welcoming spots that serve ethnic food, fine dining and yes, some concept restaurants nestled in and amongst the city’s neighborhoods, places that are almost all but untouched by tourists. And a large majority of these food stops are chef-driven – family-owned and operated by culinary hustlers that came here with a “dollar and a dream”.

Yes, there is a lot of average food in Charleston, but there is also a lot of remarkable food happening all over this city and food writers have a responsibility to showcase these places, as well. It’s not about tearing down the little guys while stroking the egos of the investor-backed restaurant groups. Food writers should be a conduit for the food stories in this city. They should be the eyes and ears, the locals tour guide to the hidden gems, chronicling the culinary landscape – the wholeculinary landscape and not a handful of namesakes within a half mile stretch of downtown. Food writers should be telling the stories about the scrappy entrepreneurs behind Faculty Lounge and Renzo, who brought dying storefronts back to life with sweat equity and savings; the mobile food vendors behind BkeD who took a mobile concept and turned it into a fleet of successful food trucks, a storefront, and two commercial kitchens; and a pair of best friends turned business partners who foreshadowed the return of the all-day breakfast spot, opening Daps Breakfast and Imbibe – otherwise known as the happiest-place-on-earth - with pennies in the bank. 

As a veteran of the food and beverage industry, a restaurant, food truck and catering company owner, I know all to well the power of the neighborhood, the power of street food, the power of corner stores, the power of not being afraid to be yourself and do your own thing. We survive by running lean, being nimble, and focusing on additional revenue streams to support the downturns. There are stories just like this, hidden all over this city. Stories that revered food writer, Jonathan Gold sought out time and time again. Every person is entitled to their opinion, but food writers should be held to a higher standard. Having “thicker skin” goes both ways and making vague statements about the cities culinary adolescence is not part of the job. 

There is a consistent theme in the food coverage in Charleston and its predominantly negative. There is nothing wrong with change.  Food should be a power for bringing a community together, for understanding people in all their different cultures and representing every ethnicity. Is there anything wrong with being a “Southern Brooklyn” – a place where every type of cuisine is richly represented and readily available?  This is not a black and white issue. It’s an issue of money and social politics. The majority of our cities small neighborhood restaurants are owner-operated, bootstrapped and self-financed. Marketing budgets, PR teams, and branding machines are non-existent. They represent themselves by making consistently good food and their efforts are qualified by happy regulars who return again and again. 

If the press would stop giving facetime to celebrity chefs, tourist-driven restaurants and negativity about change, they might find the time to visit these unique places where Charleston continues to shine. The locals are not lost – black or white…or Japanese or Mexican or Indian or Italian - they aren’t forgotten, they aren’t being run out by tourists. There’s this really cool thing happening here – chef-inspired, neighborhood-driven, family-operated – if you just take a little walk.