Louis Osteen, a legendary chef who got his start at Louis’s Charleston Grill back in the 80s and dared put Lowcountry cuisine in a fine dining setting, has returned to the area.
In case you haven’t been following along, here’s a recap:
• Louis opened Louis’s Charleston Grill in 1979 and stayed there for eight years
• In the 90s, he opened Louis’s at 280 Meeting Street.
• By 2000, Osteen had decamped to Pawley’s where he had started his career and opened Louis’s Fish Camp, a laid-back restaurant with a sprawling porch and lots of good, Southern food
• In 2004, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast
• In Feb. 2008, he took a big gamble and opened a multi-million dollar restaurant in Vegas — just in time for the withering recession. By December, both his Vegas and Pawley’s fish camps were closed, and he was back in the South, looking for a job. He landed in Florida before finding himself at Lake Rabun, Ga. . From there, he went to Nashville to work for Hospitality Development Group and opening Fish &Co.
• In the fall, he left Nashville and was casting about, looking for a new spot. He has since landed once again in Pawley’s as chef at Sanford’s Southern Fried Smokehouse, according to Becky Billingsley at Myrtle Beach Restaurant News.
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